$#&%!!$ %$#@!!*&$ #$@&*!@#%$#

For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you know what this is.   Such a wonderful surprise to find in the early morning hours.  I never said it was GOOD NEWS I was going to convey, and as it turns out, it is NOT GOOD AT ALL.  

I was pretty shocked when I checked my game camera.  Cooper went after something in the dark the night before, barking up a storm.  Luckily I reined him in, stuffed him back in the house and set out the camera. I was sure it was just the fox troop.

This is what I saw.  Gosh darn it!!  Okay, that's not really the words that came out of my mouth.  Five ... count them FIVE were found and/or killed here last spring.  Just to point out, it was not me who killed two of them.  I relocated three, including this big Mama.  Big sigh ... now I guess I have to go through that all over again.

I was sure that killing all the grass in the corral with strong pesticides would keep everyone at bay since they are after the grubs in the ground.  I was obviously wrong.  I checked the camera the NEXT morning and it was back ... of course having dug yet another hole under the fence.  I counted them ... there are 26 holes under my fence.  

Thus I bought the panels of stakes you see a corner of on the left, to be pounded into the ground along the entire fence.  They weren't cheap ... so I only plugged up their holes and laid down ten big dog kennel panels along the side.  I guess I better order another batch.

This is big Mama from last year.  

This is how you pound those panels into the ground, but they are only about 30 inches wide and my fence is 100 feet long.  You can barely see the top along the bottom of the fence.

These big panels are not lightweight.  They are 7' x 12' and heavy chain link, making them hard to drag across the corral.  I only got two in place.

And so .... out came the trap.  I can tell you I'm NOT looking forward to this adventure at all.  I've been extremely lucky that I've not been sprayed so far.  My biggest problem is a place to drop them off when caught.  Last year's solution of the almond orchard didn't work out so well for the Owner.  They dug a million holes in his orchard, making sweeping said almonds up off the ground a very hard task.

Someone said get a big trash can and fill it up with water.  Just dump the cage in it.  I was contemplating that, but when they die ALL that smell comes out as an oily goo.  Will it not get all over the cage and sit on top of the water?  Even if I tip it over at the far end of the pasture, it's going to be a stinky messy job.  Anything other than just letting them go somewhere will end the same way.

I admit, I'm also pretty soft hearted when it comes to critters, but what's a girl to do?  I've called the County, the State and the Feds ... all of whom refuse to help.

That's when Prince Charming called.  I mentioned my dilemma and out of the blue he says "I have the perfect spot to drop them off".  REALLY?  So I guess my big game hunting skills are going to be called into effect yet again.  

I am NOT looking forward to putting a cage full of skunk into the back of my truck, dropping it off somewhere and worse yet ... OPENING that cage door.  If you remember, they will not leave the cage in the daytime.  Only in the dark will they leave so I can retrieve the cage the next morning.

SO ..... I'm putting on my Big Girl Pants and my high top boots and going back to my least favorite adventure ever ... SKUNK HUNTING.  BIG SIGH!!!