I fed the cats, and then turned around to help (well, to watch, really) John move the gates. All of a sudden the cows stopped eating and left the barn lot. There was still corn left, so this was pretty strange.
Before we fed, John shut another gate to keep them in the barn lot, so we thought they were just pissed about being locked in.
The cats weren’t eating either, but this is not so strange. Usually they want some attention while we’re in the barn. So we didn’t think much of this.
Then I turned around and saw…
… a skunk eating out of the cats’ dish. Now I realize this picture is grainy, but surely you can tell that is a skunk and not a cat? It’s dark in that corner of the barn, and frankly, I wasn’t getting any closer.
(Okay, to be honest? I did try to get closer. But the skunk turned and ran away. So no more pictures.)
Great. A skunk. We’ve seen it around our property before, but not quite like this. The sightings have been more like “Hey, did you see that skunk run off the driveway?” Now what do we do? I do not want a skunk in the barn. I would rather have pigs in the barn. (Yes, I realize what I just said.)
Fast forward to Monday night. John had some 4H kids over to learn showmanship, and they were all out in the barn. Who should come, perhaps to learn how to show the sheep?
Momma skunk came to visit. This time she brought her 4 babies along for the road trip.
That’s right, I said FOUR skunk babies. We are not having 5 skunks running around our barn. (And we are not having five pigs to take their place. Just to put that out there.)
Anyone have any bright ideas on how to get rid of the stinkers? We’re up for options!
I guess the good news is that we still have running water, so if we do get sprayed, we can at least shower…
Yikes. Doesn’t sound like fun at all, but I’m glad you can see the positive in all of this. 🙂