Who Goes There?

When I set out the recycle bin for pickup this morning, I noticed a fox's prints in the snow. I thought there was a chance I'd see the animal among my trail camera photos.

Overnight, the camera had taken 937 photos. Their time stamps indicated that the first skunk arrived at the community supper dish at 5:35 pm. These chaps are learning that it's first come, first served. At 8:05 pm (long after the dish was empty) the fox made a brief appearance. Then at 3:08 am a rabbit hopped by. At 5:30 am, cat roomy Ellie Mae asked out. A good sniffing over the dish let her know details of the nightlife she had missed seeing.

Thanks to many little footprints and a deeply worn trail in the snow, I know where this family of skunks are denning. In daytime, they stay under an upturned speed boat that one of my nephews intended to turn into a fish trawling boat. You could say that it actually repurposed into a house boat (of sorts).

Nothing brightens a winter feeder like a male cardinal.

A red squirrel enjoys the spiffy feeder my cousin-in-law crafted.

In a previous life, this ground feeder was a honey comb frame.

Jimmy Scores A Meal

I've a soft spot for skunks. Aside from the cute factor (in my view, their babies are as darling as any kitten), they help keep rodent populations and insect grubs in check. You have to admire their natural ability to use 'bear spray' if threatened. Unbullied, they are shy and peaceable. Skunks and I have shared many walkabouts and I must say, they have been nothing but polite to me. My cat, Ellie Mae, prefers them to other cats.

As children, we thoroughly enjoyed the series of fictional animal adventure books by Thornton W. Burgess. One of these was titled 'The Adventures Of Jimmy Skunk'. Consequently, we tend to refer to every skunk we see as 'Jimmy'.

Last night I opened the back porch door to let Ellie Mae in for the night. There, staring back at me from the garage, was a surprised little skunk. I asked him if he was hungry. He only silently stared back and remained perfectly still.
 
"Just wait there, Jimmy, and I'll bring you something."  When I returned with some dog food and a slice of bread, the shy fellow was nowhere to be seen. So I left the meal in a little wooden trough. About half an hour later he was back. Concentrating on the food, he never even looked up as I snapped this picture.

Enjoy your meal, Jimmy! Your tail could certainly use a good brushing. Just sayin'.

One of the Thornton W. Burgess books we enjoyed as children.