Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Skunks Are Back!

Every spring for about three years now we have had a mama skunk burrow under the back foundation and have her babies.................sometimes the  smell that gets into  the house is really strong.  I have lost count of the cans of Febreze air freshener we have used.  Well, drat!  she is back.  I have worked over the area trying  to keep her out.   We laid down heavy wire mesh and fastened it down  with 6 inch landscape pins,have used  pieces of fire wood and various other stakes and things.  It seemed to work last year. Max has laid down three bales of straw over it all next to the foundation.

Not to be outdone,she went behind the straw and in  the 6 inches between the foundation and the first layer of heavy mesh and behind the straw bale dug down a sort of slide- in hole.  Two  days ago I worked on that, didn't help.  Yesterday I did some more and it seems to have worked.  I could hear her digging....I need to check in daylight to see if she made it through.  They never give up.  I am convinced it is the same skunk.

Traps will be set today.

Office is finished except for some decoration.  The carpenter took last week off..........working  somewhere else.  I may call him today.  He still hasn't finished the back porch area outside.

We have had some pretty heavy rains over the last week and it rained lightly yesterday afternoon and is misting now.  I am ready for it all to dry up and let the ground get workable.  Things have really greened up and I have one tiny daffodil in bloom.  It looks very lonely out  there by itself.

 I added this just because......Little Tommy followed me around while I was taking photos.

 Chicken yard was hazardous; I nearly fell because of the mole runs.  They were running like underground steams and I buried in one.  DH told me it was because I didn't know where to walk hinting  that I don't do the chickens often!  He is right.

 This is the west calf lot with water standing in every low place.

 The kittens all followed along.  I didn't  know they would wade!


The west yard, another mole run hazardous area.  I see I will have to pick up sticks before mowing.

COOKING

Not much interesting going on but we decided the last sourdough bread was going to the chickens.....not be making that recipe  again.  (to be honest, it wasn't a fair test, as usual, I made a few modifications that may have caused the heaviness.).  I never feel it is a waste because the chickens will eat anything!

I did use up my left over mayonnaise before the expiration date and made the Hellman's Mayonnaise chocolate cake.  The  chickens will not be getting that (most will go in the freezer for unexpected guests or when Max gets a craving).

We both thought it was the darkest cake ever but it was very moist and tasty.

CHICKENS

We are getting lots of good eggs.  I am very happy with these girls.  I thought they wouldn't lay before the longer days of spring and summer but we are getting more than enough for our needs and I have accumulated about 5 dozen for others. 



19 comments:

  1. Nice to see a newsy post from you.

    Sorry you have a skunk problem and I hope you can get it taken care of soon. Bless your hearts.

    The mayonnaise cake looks delicious, so do those fresh eggs.

    Enjoy today ~ Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No luck with the trap but no skunk smell either so that is a good thing.

      Delete
  2. Life on the farm has its little draw backs. We do love living here though. It would be hard to readjust to living in town.

    Nice to hear your comment. May I ask what service you use to post your beautiful pictures. My method just allows this one small size.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoy reading your day's happenings so much. . . even if it is just about skunks and mole runs! ha! It is like talking over the back fence to a favorite neighbor. Thanks for making my day a little brighter. WE live between Jeff City and Columbia in the country. We are soggy, too. I'm glad for the rain but ready for planting so....a little dry out would be nice. We visited the community of Ukrainians in Willow Springs a few years ago. We have a young friend who's family is Ukrainian. They are genuinely lovely people! Would love to make the trip again some time. I'm a lifelong Missouri resident so all of Missouri is special to me! Have a great day!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know we had a community of Ukrainians. We don't get too far from the farm these days. We are familiar with your area. Both offspring graduated from MU in Columbia and our granddaughter is a freshman there this year.

      The back yard fence brought up a memory. When we lived in town I was surrounded by elderly neighbors and I loved visiting over the back fence (literally) with them. They both had huge gardens and I was a novice. Good memories.

      Delete
  4. So good to see a post. I feel like I am walking along with you as you take pics & talk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love your comment about walking along with me. I hope everyone feels that way. Makes sharing very worthwhile.

      Delete
  5. The above commenter is right . . . your blogs are like talking over the fence! Love your posts.

    Oh, the skunk problem! I hate harming a wild animal but I would be sitting outside with a gun as I couldn't abide the skunk smell around about let alone IN the house!

    You are in your mud season. My least favorite time of year. We've got a month or so to go yet for ours.

    Loved the pics of the cats/kittens out and about. I was surprised to see them sloshing through the water, too.

    That chocolate cake! Yes, how dark and I have no doubt it was moist, heavy and dee-lish!

    Although our weather has only climbed up into the 30s, we're all of a sudden getting scads of eggs. I have 12 dozen in the spare refridge as we speak. Nice to have some to give away again.

    Watch yourself and those mole runs! That could be dangerous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised to hear how many eggs you are getting. I guess that day-length things isn't always required. I need to put the word out that I have eggs again.

      The skunks left us alone last night; they also didn't visit the trap. We will dispose of any we can......

      Delete
  6. Glenda, now I'm going to have to make a Hellman's cake...it looks delicious, although I really shouldn't...LOL!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  7. In the past few weeks, especially late, late night, when the weather isn't too cold, we are suffering through terrible bouts of skunk odor coming into the house. Then just last week I read in the farmers almanac that skunk mating season had begun. I got to thinking that maybe we have a skunk or skunks having romantic encounters with other skunks somewhere in our yard. My husband searched the yard and under an addition to our house, but can find no signs of skunks living there. Do you think a skunk just being in our yard walking around looking for food would release strong scent even if it wasn't provoked, (or being romanced)? The odor is not present except occasionally and only very late at night.
    Night before last it was so strong it caused my asthma to flare up. We live in the suburbs, but have seen/smelled a dead skunk in a road not too far from our house last year, so they are in the area. Skunks are something I never thought that I'd be dealing with around here.

    That Hellman's cake sure looks tempting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Skunks may use the scent often and it doesn't take much. If one walks through and has sprayed recently he will definitely leave a trail of scent behind. Romance isn't the only reason; they will spray when feeling threatened. I am glad you don't have one taking up permanent residence!

      Delete
  8. Just thought of another question...what kind of stink proof cage do you use to trap a skunk, and what do you do with them once you catch them. How do you release them without getting a face full of skunk stink? Just wondering, in case we find our skunk culprit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No scent proof cage and we don't try to release them again. We favor a more permanent method. I don't know how far they will travel to use the den again but I won't take that risk.

      Delete
  9. I enjoyed this post, Glenda. It looks like you have had more rain than we have here, but our pond is full now and that is good as it was getting really low. Now I'm ready for some sunshine! Loved seeing your kittens following you around. Have a nice week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were dry going into fall so these rains are a blessing. I just hope they become more scattered with some warm sunny days in between. Glad your pond is filled again.

      We are now overrun with cats....I have never had one inside for very long but Jessie (the Calico) seems intent on changing that.

      Delete
  10. Glenda,

    We have sensored lights all around our house to deter certain critters, specifically skunks. We haven't had a skunk around the house or other buildings yet...knock on wood. We've seen several not far from our place as road kill on the old highway.
    I hope you're able to transfer the skunk.

    I bet your happy the office is completed, and I know it looks amazing.

    Yum Mayo cake....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have tried leaving a drop cord with a bright light on nightly. They ignored it totally. I have tried scattering mothballs around the foundation; nada! They also ignored the baited trap. Max says I am too impatient about the trap. He is right!

      Delete