Mysterious Path

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I moved some oak limbs to the corner of the property and saw this pathway for the first time. It wasn’t there a week ago. It goes from the back of the shed to a large bush. The only beings that I know that have been there are the men who mow the lawn and a family of skunks. Since I don’t want the skunks in my yard, I hope the men made this odd path. But why????

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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39 thoughts on “Mysterious Path”

  1. Wow that is a mystery indeed!! Almost has to be an animal. Humans would have made it straight …wouldn’t they? Must be a bunch of animals to wear it down to dirt that fast.

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      1. Me either. Just by odd chance could it have been spilled gasoline from a leaky can being carried? Probably not likely, but something very obviously killed the grass.

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  2. If the grass is worn down to the dirt, I’d say animal path. If the grass is dead perhaps some type of chemical was spilled or dumped there. Either way weird that it just showed up.

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  4. I’ve never seen anything like that path. I hope you can find out what made it. I would think it would take awhile to wear it down to the dirt and no grass at all left. Very strange.

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  5. That’s really odd – it almost looks like a chemical burn, like weed killer. I hope you learn its origin. I just Googled and gasoline leaking from a mower can cause a burned lawn, but the winding path here is odd. Skunks spraying doesn’t kill the lawn.

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  8. When you see the men who mow, you can ask them if they know what made the path. I would guess animals made the path. A trail camera would allow you to know what was using the path.

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  12. Anne, that is not an animal path. Even a larger mammal like a deer would not make a path that wide and I have never seen an animal path with so many sharp crooks in it. I have seen cattle make paths that wide but with a heavy beast like that the path would be deeper too. Most small mammals like your skunks, walk a very narrow path, and all mammals may have a few gentle turns around a tree or shrub or rock, but nothing with jogs like the ones in your photos. I tend to think it’s something of a chemical burn like others have stated. We are all hopeful your yard men can explain something!

    Also, if you want to get rid of a skunk family, hook up an old radio and play loud music for a few days and nights, and I guarantee they will leave! We’ve done that here with skunks and suggested that to our neighbors who have had foxes and raccoons try to set up housekeeping, and they usually leave by the second day. The way your garden shed is open underneath is an invitation to shelter for some smaller mammals and even snakes.

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    1. Yours is the voice of experience. I suspect you’ve spent more time outdoors than most of the rest of us.

      I don’t want to talk to the yard men, because I don’t think they speak English. At least one might know basic words. With my hearing problems, I probably wouldn’t understand him.

      Thank you for the loud music deterrent. That’s an excellent idea if everyone in the neighborhood would be in agreement. So far, the skunks haven’t seemed to be under our porches. I’ll let the others know, and we will confer. Thank you very much for your excellent ideas.

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    1. I’ve never seen scorched earth from a lightning strike. I hope I never do! That would have been much too close for comfort. Surely someone would have been at home to tell the rest of us about a flash and a terrific clap of thunder.

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