The Animal Kingdom in my Backyard

Once again, I have not posted for quite some time...but you already know that. I've been off work due to health reasons for a few weeks now and haven't been doing much of anything really. It seems my days are filled with naps, a constant back pain that gets worse with every inch the baby grows, and an awful lot of animals.
I've been feeling like Ace Ventura when he opens his arms and all the animals come to him. Only my animals are restricted to squirrels, a raccoon, dogs and a skunk.

In spring, we had a raccoon that liked to visit our garbage at night. I surprised him once when I was about to let out the dog for his nighttime potty break. The raccoon froze there staring at me hanging on the edge of our deck with his head poking over the top. He looked so cute. So, being a sucker for anything furry, I started to leave old cupcakes out for him at night. I got such a kick out the way he ate them, peeling the wrapper off each one and leaving it behind.

After a few weeks of my offerings, one evening I saw him walk by in the moonlight, and he was HUGE! I named him Quasimodo and stopped putting out cupcakes for him, as he could have quite easily ate my little dog for a snack if they ever met. We haven't seen too much of him since, now we get a glimpse just on garbage night out near the curb.

Since I've been off work, every morning while sitting at the kitchen table (which faces our back deck) we are visited by a couple of squirrels. I started feeding them peanuts a long time ago but would just put them on the deck for them to find. In the past weeks, they have become used to me in the kitchen in the a.m., and now look into the glass door to see if they can persuade me into giving them some food. I have to admit - they have started to become the happiest part of my day. It was like clock work - everyday between 8 and 8:30, I could expect one of them. The grey squirrel is much more bold than the black squirrel, and will take food from my hand. I let the kids give him peanuts by opening the door a little and sliding one out - we almost ended up with Mr.Grey coming on in! He can be a little impatient if his supply runs out. Out of the two, he is my favourite. I can sit outside and he'll come and visit during the day. It's peaceful to sit with him so close to me.





The black squirrel likes to stay back a bit. He'll sit on the edge of the deck and wait for me to go back inside before he collects the nuts. He also likes to get the job done quickly, always picking up as many nuts as he can at a time.






My dogs have liked having me home during the day. Lots of snuggles all day long, especially when I lay on the floor to help soothe my back pain. Dexter is a Lab, and not usually allowed up on furniture, so seeing me grab the pillow and head to the floor is an exciting part of his day. He'll wait for me to get positioned then weave himself all around me, let out a big moan, and sleep. Zoe a Mini Rat Terrier that looks like a Chihuahua, is all about seeking out the warmest place to be, so she slips under my blanket if not right on top of my belly. It's cozy, however I am looking forward to seeing Zoe's reaction when the baby kicks her off for the first time.

The newest critter to come around, was a skunk. Dexter had been paying extra attention under the stairs of our deck in the past week or so - lingering and sniffing around for an extended period of time. I thought something was up after a couple days of this. Then one night, while my better half was outside, it waddled on by.  We have been nervous to let the dogs out ever since. A couple days ago, Dexter bolted out of the door for his final bathroom break of the night like he was chasing something. We didn't see anything. In the last two days, I could smell skunk everytime I was on our front step. Not like it sprayed, just like it was close by. Both kids mentioned the smell too, but we never thought about it after that. Last night around 9:30 while we sat in the living room watching tv, I heard a scratching outside. We muted the tv and listened...listened... and nothing. Never heard it again and later went to bed.
Now, for some reason I will often wake up around 4 a.m., last night I decided to come down stairs to watch tv for a bit until I felt tired again. Once I got to the living room, I could hear the scratching again so I investigated a little. I went to the kitchen, but it wasn't there, I listened upstairs, not there either. I pictured something trying to get into our attic from outside but being scared to look outside at night, I decide to see what it was in the morning.
At the first note of my alarm, I sprang out of bed and got dressed so I could investigate. I hooked Dexter up out back, and carefully walked along the side of our house to see what kind of damage was done. I looked up and down the wall until I got up to our basement window-well and what I saw in there made my heart jump. I hobbled away as quick and as quiet as I could. The skunk was stuck in there! He was scratching at our window screen all night, which he completely destroyed while trying to get himself out.

We called pest control to see if they could get him out, but they suggested we just put a towel covered plank in there so he could walk out. I hung up the phone and my better half and I just looked at each other wondering who was going to take on this task...without getting sprayed. I volunteered because I felt sorry for the little guy and always feel responsible to take care of wild life. My better half fixed up any gaps under the deck so he wouldn't go back under there and I prepared for the plank drop. We made a plan just in case I got sprayed and out we went.
When it came to lowering the plank into the window-well, we each approached from the opposite side. We thought this was a good plan so that we could both see the skunks reaction. I ever so slowly slid the plank in, being careful not to upset the skunk when suddenly the skunk jumped! We both ran as fast as we could to escape a possible spray. But nothing happened. It was quite funny really. Certainly got the heart rate up!


We pulled up a table under the basement window downstairs so we could observe the skunk throughout the day.  He was kind of cute with the funny white hair on his head, I called him Einstein. As we stood there watching, the neighborhood cat crept up to have a peek. Her eyes as big a saucers as she stared at the skunk. Einstein stared right back at her. The last thing we wanted was for it to spray and I was picturing a spray any second so I  hurried outside to coax the kitty away and took her home to her owners, who were more than happy to keep her inside for the day.

That evening we waited for the skunk to make his escape. I checked on him every 20 minutes or so, hoping to see some sort of movement. Nothing. I even knocked on the window to wake him up. Still nothing. I was sure it was going to die in there. Perhaps he was too weak from being in there with no food or water? This of course made me toss some food in to the poor little thing. Nothing. It was almost nine at night when I checked on him, and finally saw slight movement. Next thing you know - he left.

What a relief! If that thing sprayed or died in there it would have been horrible! I was glad he was ok, and now I can add 'skunk' to the list of animals I have had to deal with in my lifetime.

My daughter started her Christmas list last week, on it lists a gerbil or a hamster. I'm seriously considering it. My mom always let us have pets when we were younger and I think that is why I love animals today. I have found animals to be a wonderful part of my life. I'll be happy to carry on that tradition.