Skunk Jousting and Hurricane Ike

Whoever thought we'd be hurricane victims here in Ohio? Thanks to Ike, over 2 million people in Ohio are without power (according to the news, that is...I had no idea there were so many people in Ohio). The odd thing is, it's usually our house with no power while the surrounding homes enjoy electricity, running water, and the like. This time, it's the opposite. They've been without power since last Sunday when Ike came screaming through the area with 70 mph winds. Our county has even declared a state of emergency in hopes of gaining federal funds to help clean up. We lost a few trees, but that just means more firewood. In fact, DH and I were standing in the field (well clear of trees), watching the debris blow and the trees topple, sipping wine and giving the occasional redneck 'WhoooooHoooo!'. Ok, I admit, it was me with the redneck yelling.

Anyway, thanks to Ike, we had a third tree drop on our bunny pen. One fell during the tornado last year, and one during an ice storm. And now, our place looks like the Teletubby set, minus Tinky Winky, Dipsy, LaLa and Po.

As a result, we've had the live trap baited and set, in hopes of catching the roaming bunnies. Yesterday morning, DH went down to feed the remaining captives, and found a delightful surprise in our live trap.








So...how to let a skunk out of the live trap without getting skunked? First, DH tried getting close enough to let the little stinker out. A skunk will generally stomp it's feet, do a handstand, and raise it's tail before spraying. Well...stomp went the feet, up went the tail, scatter went the people. It probably looked like an episode of the three stooges.

DH came up with the idea of making a grapple hook to toss, catch the cage, and flip the cage over. Sometimes, if the cage is upside down, the door will flip open. He managed to flip the cage over, but the door refused to budge. The skunk took the whole thing fairly well.

DH got a very long branch and an umbrella (just in case), and got close enough to push the door open. It really did look like skunk jousting.  Maybe that should be an Olympic sport?

Fortunately, the skunk was released without harm, and no one got skunked.

For those in the path of Ike in his fury, my thoughts are with you.