Every evening I place one-third cup of dog food and bits of apple core, other fruit, or ends of tomatoes that we might have eaten during the day on a plate and stick it on the porch. Whoever gets there first, eats. I put the plate so that I can see it from the window by the bed.
Usually, it is an opossum that comes at about 8 p.m. every evening. For several weeks we watched female opossum that came every night swollen like a balloon with babies in her pouch. Many people hate opossums, and I suppose if I were still keeping chickens I might hate them too, but I enjoy watching them.
The opossum is a very neat animal, and it thoroughly washes its face when it is finished.
The raccoons usually show up too...
but they would come even if the dog food wasn’t there because they also like to eat whatever scratch feed or sunflower seeds are leftover from what I have given the birds during the day. Sometimes they don't even wait for the sun to go down....
On occasion, our neighbor’s cat shows up. He is a handsome black and white devil who picks fights with our cat and invariably sends her up a tree. I run him off if I see him.
So, last Sunday night I was sitting in bed getting ready to watch Masterpiece Mystery! when I glanced out the window at the plate of food and saw something black walk up to the dish. Lept off the bed and went charging to the storm door and started to open it to holler at the cat to “get out here,” only I realized as I pushed on the handle that this was most definitely not the neighbor’s cat.
Fortunately for me, seeing that there was only a screen between me and the skunk 3 feet away, it was so startled that it didn't have time to react except to give me a quick look over its shoulder before it scurried off the porch and into the brush.
Last night, at about 1 a.m., the overpowering, nauseating smell of skunk spray came wafting through the open window by the bed. All we can assume is that Flower met Rocky Raccoon and had a disagreement about something. We just hope Flower doesn't make this a habit....
6 comments:
We had a mother and 2 baby skunks visit under our bird feeders, but only for a few weeks.
Boy it's a good thing you didn't get sprayed..and I like watching the possoms(as we call them here in ky)I have a possom and a raccoon that visit my back porch for the cat food...take care..
You have cool neighbors!
aloha-
Comfort Spiral
!! Oh, no. Havent ever smelt a skunk but can imagine how awful!
How lovely to read about oppossums, raccoons and skunks - none of which we have here. Earlier this year, when visiting Rhode Island, a skunk crossed the road in front of us - it was one of the highlights of our trip! (no smell, though)
Opossum....I don't want to hate them...but....They have to stay AWAY from the barn...out of the hay mow. Because they carry awful disease bacteria in there poop that turns horses neurological. Other than that ....I like how they carry there babies around!
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