Skulking Spring Skunk

Unfortunately, no colorful blossoms exist in my yard right now, and the only flower inside my house is a poinsettia, so doctoring up a winter photo is my only recourse. I'm sad, too, because I can't find the tag showing the name of the plant these seed pods grew on. It had heads of many tiny orange flowers when it was blooming last summer.

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My mind was completely blank when I awoke this morning.......I had not the slightest notion what to blog about today. But, it didn't take long for a story to present itself. As I walked the slippery path across the farmyard toward the barn, that always recognizable odor of SKUNK wafted into my nostrils.

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The first thing Husband said from his usual squatting position by a cow's udder was, "Spring is coming......the skunks are waking up!" He proceeded to tell me that the dogs had been excitedly jumping at the door of the hay shed when he was headed for the barn earlier. Upon opening the shed door, he knew right away what was going on.......there was a SKUNK in there! The dogs dashed in and immediately found the stinky creature, cornering it between two calf huts. Husband grabbed a two-by-six board to hit the black and white intruder with. I'm sorry, but, yes, Husband ALWAYS gets rid of any skunks that show up. Because they STINK, and pose a rabies concern. Sorry to offend any animal lovers out there......that's just the way it is on a farm. I do sort of feel bad for the poor skunk, but there's nothing I can do to change the situation.

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I had to go into the hay shed for something later, and.....WHOA!......the skunk aroma nearly knocked me over. WOWSER! That smell will be hanging around for awhile, I'm afraid.

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I hope you all have a good day today, devoid of encountering any skunks. Be careful on the ice, too, if you have any around your place. This morning's sunshine enticed me into venturing out on the road for a walk.......on that road pictured above, in this blog's header. I was happily striding along when my attention----and my feet----were grabbed by very slippery ice lurking beneath the snow on the road. I danced around awkwardly for a few seconds, trying my best to stay upright, but to no avail. Ka-wump!......my right hipbone took a direct hit. Ow!

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I got up as quick as I could, figuring it would be just my luck for a pickup to come barreling over the hill, and headed back to the house to write this blog post.

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Have a wonderful day, everyone!!