patrickg
Veteran Member
Man! You guys are nuts!
Nuts? That's old news. I thought everyone knew that. Was blissfully unaware (read ignorant) that 'coons back east were so infected. I always had read that in some areas, rabies was endemic in skunks. Armadillos are big time carriers of leprosy.
Once when we were in a narrow canyon in Imperial county in California (Painted Gorge) to watch an eclipse of the moon that was to be at about midnight we had a skunk experience. We put our individual ground cloth and sleeping bags down on the course sand and I unloaded the supplies out of the '43 military Jeep. We were laying about on the ground watching the moon light creep down the canyon walls (the eclipse would be overhead) when I heard a rustling sound (it actually was a rustler).
A skunk had grabbed a full bag of marshmallows and was making off with them, dragging it across the ground. I gave chase annd tossed rocks at it till it dropped the bag while my wife was shouting at me to stay away because of rabies, animals acting strange could be infected. I put the bag back, we all had a chuckle, my wife calmed down and then I heard THAT sound again.
Mr. skunk was back, had the marshmallows and was departing the area in more haste than before. Again I gave chase, threw rocks, and recovered the marshmallows. I picked up the apple crate of supplies and put it on the hood of the Jeep and opened the bag and got a couple marshmallows out. I went about 20 feet past our bivouac area to the skunks den hole where I could see his eyes reflecting moonlight. I tossed in the marshmallows and rejoined the group. My wife did some protesting about me going to the den too but I explained that the skunk was NOT acting strangely. It was in fact in complete control of its mental faculties, knew what it wanted and went for it, TWICE.
Yet another entertaining moment brought to us by ole Ma Nature. (Is that reference PC enough? Ma Nature???)
Patrick
Nuts? That's old news. I thought everyone knew that. Was blissfully unaware (read ignorant) that 'coons back east were so infected. I always had read that in some areas, rabies was endemic in skunks. Armadillos are big time carriers of leprosy.
Once when we were in a narrow canyon in Imperial county in California (Painted Gorge) to watch an eclipse of the moon that was to be at about midnight we had a skunk experience. We put our individual ground cloth and sleeping bags down on the course sand and I unloaded the supplies out of the '43 military Jeep. We were laying about on the ground watching the moon light creep down the canyon walls (the eclipse would be overhead) when I heard a rustling sound (it actually was a rustler).
A skunk had grabbed a full bag of marshmallows and was making off with them, dragging it across the ground. I gave chase annd tossed rocks at it till it dropped the bag while my wife was shouting at me to stay away because of rabies, animals acting strange could be infected. I put the bag back, we all had a chuckle, my wife calmed down and then I heard THAT sound again.
Mr. skunk was back, had the marshmallows and was departing the area in more haste than before. Again I gave chase, threw rocks, and recovered the marshmallows. I picked up the apple crate of supplies and put it on the hood of the Jeep and opened the bag and got a couple marshmallows out. I went about 20 feet past our bivouac area to the skunks den hole where I could see his eyes reflecting moonlight. I tossed in the marshmallows and rejoined the group. My wife did some protesting about me going to the den too but I explained that the skunk was NOT acting strangely. It was in fact in complete control of its mental faculties, knew what it wanted and went for it, TWICE.
Yet another entertaining moment brought to us by ole Ma Nature. (Is that reference PC enough? Ma Nature???)
Patrick