A recent (mis)adventure
of theirs continues to warm my heart and I want to share it with the world.
A pesky groundhog has
been living under our poolhouse for quite a while now, so my parents decided it
was time to evict him. Rather than
have an exterminator do the job, they purchased and set up a trap from Home
Depot and planned to release the groundhog into the Great Swamp once he was
caught. The following morning,
however, they awoke to troublesome news: the groundhog was still cozy under the
poolhouse and they had caught a skunk instead.
None of the
exterminators in the area provide service on Sundays, so Jim and Jane had to
improvise (or else have a baked skunk on their hands). After consulting the internet and some
more nature-minded friends, they decided to cover the cage to shield Skunky
from the hot sun and to keep him from spraying.
Apparently, skunks will
not spray if they can’t see you, and they are soothed by the slow, floating
approach of a large, blue Snuggie.
Armed with this information (and of course, a blue Snuggie), James
bravely risked his usual scent of Old Spice and baby powder for the task of
covering the cage. And Jane, with
her ever-steady hand, videotaped the whole thing for posterity.
(How calmly he walks
away at the end! I would have
bolted.)
The skunk got picked up
on Monday. After all that, my
parents decided to let the groundhog remain in his residence under the pool
house. When asked for comment on
this story, Jane said, “I don’t think we’ll try again for the groundhog. We feel like amateurs. Should pay the pros.”
I, for one, am glad they
didn’t. Not only did this episode
provide my sisters and me with great entertainment (“Oscar-worthy footage”,
said one), it is yet another example of how my parents continue to confront
life’s challenges as a united team, armed with tenacity and good humor. Happy anniversary—here’s to many more
years of catching skunks and taking names.
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