Good news! The skunk is dead! For some reason, a sick skunk took a shine to neighbor Joyce, or at least the area around her house. I saw it twice when she texted me that she could see it in the pasture. Although it should be a nocturnal animal, we saw it shuffle between her shed and ours in the middle of the day. One night the stench was so great that Joyce couldn’t sleep, even with a blanket over her head. The skunk finally died on Joyce’s driveway, luckily without spraying anyone on the street. Neighbor Bob looked at it, waited some hours to make sure it hadn’t moved, and took care of the carcass. He told us this morning that despite his waiting, the skunk’s body was not totally stiff. Needless to say, our neighborhood smells a lot better now. Thank you, Bob!
On David’s day off, we went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time this year. Driving there is like a mini-vacation for me. The road is high up on mountains when it isn’t actually on a ridge. There are sweeping views of ridges to the horizon, often filled with that blue haze for which our mountains are famous. There wasn’t much color at higher elevations, but we saw tons of icicles hanging from boulders beside the road. The breezes coming up the slopes were sweet, with not a hint of skunk odor. I asked David to pose with the Woodfin Cascades behind him. We could hear the roar of the water, even at that great distance. He added an appropriate splash of blue to the pre-Spring landscape.
Mehrling Muse 
Oh, I also encountered a skunk in the dark as I walked the high school track before teaching. I froze and stopped breathing to see where this creature was going. My mind wondered what to do if I had been sprayed. Stories from folks mentioned bathing in tomato juice. Now that’s not something I carry with me. I also thought I would have to walk the two miles home and call in late to school while I tried to rid the odor off my clothes and body. Thankfully, the creature was not interested in me. Over the course of the next week, I watched the skunk waddle up the hill, wiggle under a fence and disappear. They wander the neighborhood. I am glad you waited or your neighbor did to remove it. I think I would have phoned animal control if there is a hotline. Eau de skunk is not a cologne I would ever bottle or use!
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Neighbor Joyce planned to call animal control to catch the skunk, but then it died. An email friend said she should have called them anyway, to find out if it had rabies. Too late now!
I’m glad you didn’t get sprayed on the high school track.
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Everything in hindsight, but a good idea to have even a carcass checked for rabies. We had a rabid fox which needed to be removed from the neighborhood. It was another morning with my husband along. When we turned into the neighborhood, there was the fox in the middle of the road. It was 4:30 AM so I did not want to honk a horn. We tried blinding it with high beams. Nothing. It would not move. We carefully went around it and by the time we phoned, someone else had phoned animal control. It was checked and rabid. There are always notes in the newspaper about such events. In the daytime and foaming at the mouth were two strong clues.
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Thanks for underlining the seriousness of rabid animals. Your fox stopped
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I have seen a few from afar and never want a close encounter. From what I have read, the series of shots one must get if bitten by a rabid fox can be very uncomfortable.
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We want to avoid rabies, that’s for sure!
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Rats! That reply jumped the gun. Your fox story was chilling.
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And in the dark of early morning the fox in the middle of the street was unfazed by a “giant” van. When it didn’t move, we knew something was amiss.
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That guy is a hero! I would have called Animal Control. Wow those mountains are beautiful!
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We know now to call animal control.
We love our mountains. We tend to live and drive in the valleys here, so being up high is a treat.
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Life in the country, it’s worth the occasional nasal distractions.
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We saw a skunk crossing the road several months ago while we were walking. That one moved well and was going away from us — the best view of a skunk!
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I’m not sure we have an animal control. A few weeks ago my nephew and his son came to Hope End to camp out one night. It was Spring break and they wanted to get away. About 9:00pm he called me from my mothers and said his dog got too close and got sprayed bad. What to do. My mother had some tomato jice but it wasn’t much for a good size dog. We have since found out that 1 qt. peroxide +1/4 cup baking soda+1 tsp. dish liq, mixed will do the trick..Of course we don’t normally carry this around but it is good to have the info.
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That’s great to know what to do in case you are sprayed by a skunk.
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Oh Anne-you do live in a beautiful place! Now about our Cobs . . .I am sick with worry! I have sent emails and messages to her and Hugo! not a word in weeks! Have you heard anything? love Michele
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No, I haven’t heard from Cobs. I think you and several others are closer to her than I am. I have enjoyed her posts and commented on many of them, but I haven’t chatted with her apart from WordPress. I hope you hear something soon and will let me know when you do.
Love, Anne
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thank you sweet Anne-Still think of you every morning! love Michele
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And I continue praying for you. Lots of love coming your way from here.
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Absolutely beautiful especially when compared to the skunk stench…enjoy.
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I am so glad your neighborhood is skunk free. We have them here frequently and it makes me so nervous! Such a gorgeous shot of the mountain!! 💖💗
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We have a skunk I see every night as I lock the girls in. If anyone could hear me walking outside talking to a skunk they might think I am a bit nuts. I figure he is more afraid of me than I am of him….at least I am hoping so! So far he ambles off every time he hears me and I am so good with that. Last night he just first stood and looked at me. I wonder if he is gauging if I am a threat or not.
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The skunk wouldn’t harm the chickens, would he?
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They actually would if they got in the coop at night. That is why I always try get outside before the skunk shows up.
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Pressure!! You’re in a race against skunks!
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LOL This skunk is very healthy so I am not too worried about him. So far he waddles off when he hears me.
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I have never seen or heard of a skunk in these parts. But it is always nice to know. I am glad you are all ok.
The day, the sky and the waterfalls in the distance are beautiful. I thought the Woodfin Cascades were the hills in the background of David and then I googled it to find, it was a waterfalls and that there was a trickle of water seen in the picture you posted.
Susie
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The stream in the background is much larger than it appeared in the photo. We could hear it roaring as it hit the rocks.
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But it must be quite a few miles even as the crow flies, from where you stood ?
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The stream was far away, but I am not good at estimating distance. The road goes right over the beginning of the cascade.
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Well I don’t know if this is good news. From the skunk’s point of view he might not think it is. Always ornery, me. 😉
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The skunk had not been walking normally, so I presume it was on its last legs, anyway. Surely he would have opted for death instead of living in misery!!! We would have chosen a quick death for him, that’s certain!
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Yikes! I hope that skunk did not have rabies! My oldest son lives in the mountains in Colorado. He told me that there are no rabies there.
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It’s too late to find out about Mr. Stinky Skunk. Neighbor Joyce saw the skunk touch noses with one of the horses in the pasture. Neither seemed upset then.
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Laurie said what I was thinking. I hope that whatever it died of wasn’t contagious to other animals. Odd. I always thought ailing animals would go away to die, away from everything. I hope your neighbor took precautions.
As the mountain weather warms the hills will come alive.
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Neighbor Joyce was on high alert, and she kept us informed.
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Thank goodness the skunk and his scent are out of the picture. Have you had any more glimpses of the bear? That’s a great shot of David with the background – such a pleasant way to spend David’s day off.
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We haven’t seen a bear lately. We did see two wild turkeys today! They were hanging out in the pasture behind our house. We’ve seen turkeys only once before in that area.
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I’ve never seen them but I know they are in the rural areas … there was one for a long time in Trenton on the main drag. People would take pictures and post it on the community forum page. I think the police removed it before it could get injured or someone got injured taking photos while driving. I look every time I go to Lake Erie Metropark and Elizabeth Park as they are in rural areas.
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We’d appreciate a neighbor Bob around here. A very territorial skunk has been tormenting us for almost a year. Our animal control department is under staffed, so we’re on our own till it dies. Then they’ll get around to checking for rabies. Sheesh.
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We had to wait for our skunk to die, too. Thankfully, the skunk was on his last legs when he tormented us.
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Your neighborhood sounds wonderful! I love how you go off on road trips so often. It’s on my Spring list to do that, but I haven’t figured out where yet!
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For 20 years I worked six or seven days a year and never went anywhere. We’re making up for lost time. You go to new shops and restaurants, and that could be just as refreshing.
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I’m trying to get out more as my tendency is definitely to be a homebody, but I don’t venture far from home.
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I’m glad you’re having the chance to traipse around now to your hearts content:)
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When I was new to skunks there was a sick shivering one here in daylight. I felt so sorry for it I went inside and brought out a towel to cover it and some lettuce. When I got close it turned and waddled away. Later I was told it was probably rabid. Live and learn and thank goodness the little guy turned tail. Country adventures!
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You got that close???? Wow! You are brave! I’m glad you didn’t get sprayed.
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Did he notice any wounds inflicted onto the Skunk? If there were no wounds evident,I’d hazard a guess It ate some rat poison somewhere but if there was a big stink it sounds like something tried to attack it.
Poor thing….
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if it was rabid you’d know. A rabid animal becomes very aggressive and will choose to attack rather than waddle away. They behave very oddly. It probably was hypothermic and maybe hungry?
Good for you for trying to take care of it!
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We would have all chosen to relocate the skunk if possible.
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