Stepping outside my back door...

   The summer of 2013 is past. The warm days of summer and mild evenings have given way to cooler days and now chilly nights, ones that require a sweater or  that new fleece jacket . Stepping outside, there is now the smell of wood smoke wafting through the air as the neighbors fire up their wood stoves and a stillness grips the air. Every once and a while a breeze will rustle the remaining leaves on the trees and the wind chimes play its repeated melody. And then it happens!!

   For those who don't know, our back yard is heavy with trees, mostly pines and aside from a small area of grass that requires a lawn mower every so often and two hand dug ponds, the yard boarders on a wooded area filled with various forms of animal wildlife.

   During the late spring and summer the ponds are filled with frogs and toads, when there is enough water, and this year, Lucky “enjoyed” getting to know the frogs 'up front and personal'. He learned quickly that if he moved very quietly and slowly he could sneak up on them and attempt to hit them with his paw. Without exception, they were quicker then he and they would leap back into the water with a splash, surprising him and sometimes even me. Those little guys are fast and can really swim.

   One of the many things we are trying to teach him is to 'sit' before racing out the door and he does quite well, thanks to Stephani, his trainer. This allows us to be sure we have treats in our pockets and the chance to take a quick scan of the yard to see what might be out there. (Often the neighbor's cat will be sitting near the pond, it too watching the frogs and hoping to catch one and take it home to it's owner. “Look what I caught Mom!'

   It is important that Lucky not race out the door as we often have deer in the yard, a wild turkey or two, or a wayward duck swimming in the pond and we certainly don't want him to scare them off. Now the squirrels, that's a different story.

   If “squirrely “ behavior is any indication of the upcoming winter, this one may be a winner. Brazen enough to even sit on the window sills of the sun room looking inside for treats, the yard seems to be full of them this year, scurrying around, racing up and down the trees, leaping from branch to branch and, when Lucky is outside, chattering and scolding him for invading their territory. If Lucky ever figures out how to climb a tree, they could be in big trouble. But like the frogs, they are able to move with great speed and Lucky can only sit at the base of the tree, look up, and dream. 'Some day!!'

   And then there is the other evening. Lucky's last trip outside for the night is usually around 9:00 PM, one last chance to stake his claim to a 'spot 'on the property. “Sit. Good boy.” With the door now open, the command is “OK” and he walks slowly out the door, after all, it's dark out there now. Much to our surprise, within three feet of the door sits this big old skunk!! This unexpected visitor is too much for Lucky to handle and he runs towards it.

   The next few minutes were almost chaos. The skunk was in not hurry, It didn't need to be and within a minutes or two the area smelled like...let me tell you, it wasn't wood smoke.

   The skunk continued on its merry pace, off into the darkness of the woods and by now, Lucky had figured out that something terrible had happened. He opted not to follow the skunk into the woods but instead found the nearest area of grass and began to roll around like a crazy dog. And then from inside the house...”Jan, what's that smell?

  Now, as I have said, we live in the country and you would have thought that after all these years experience would have taught us to be prepared for such occasions. But NO!

   So it was first to the computer for a quick search of “skunk” and then to the tub.

After a few minutes we did all that we could do with limited resources this night. Lucky spent the night in a somewhat secluded area of the house. I lit any kind of air scent freshener we had and by morning the smell outside in the backyard was almost gone. It sticks around forever. Where is the wind when you need it.

   It was an very early morning visit to the local Farmers' Union pet department and by noon, things were pretty well back to normal. And yes, I did stock up on some supplies for any future encounters.

   The lessons here...Check out the yard a bit more carefully, especially at night and be prepared for those unwanted visitors. That may not be the neighbor's cat out there!! Here kitty kitty.