Went out and about the wilds for a walk and to hunt for arrowheads. It was a nice day, sunny, about 65 degrees and rather quiet; no wind or other noise. I did not find any arrowheads, but did find two spots on elevated areas that had a lot of debitage---flint knapping chips---but no arrow heads. One doesn't usually find whole, complete arrowheads in the work area, just parts of arrowheads. That's because in the making of arrowheads, there are a lot of failures and those that are broken while knapping get discarded only for me to find hundreds of years later. Must have been a good knapper in these areas scouted this day.
Not long after starting out, I was standing on a spot and looked to my left and there it was, a big, mature skunk. It had the most elegant tail I have ever seen on a skunk. Had I had my .22, the tail might now be in the barn drying out. But I didn't have my .22 with me, so it got to keep the elegant tail for another time.
It was a two banded skunk. We have three variations of pepe le pew. Single, double, and even triple banded skunks. The name refers to the white stripe on its back starting just south of the head. It can be either single, or it can divide and then become the stripes for which it is named.
Skunks have poor eyesight. It continued to walk toward me because it had not yet spotted me. So, I tapped my metal walking stick on a rock to make some sound, and it looked up from its grubbing for insects, and looked at me for the longest time---maybe ten feet away. Finally it figured out that I was probably not "good news" and turned and walked away into the cedar breaks.
I then walked along a cleared fenceline, still on the hunt for arrowheads. About 20 minutes and 100 yards later, here is the skunk again right ahead of me in the cleared area. The skunk did the same thing, ignored me until I made noise then studied me for a minute or so, then ambled away.
This occurred again, almost exactly the same way, another 100 yards down the cleared fenceline. Finally, both the skunk and I decided this was enough of this play, so I became more aggressive and it ambled, this time a bit more rapidly, off to the right, through the fenceline and into the adjacent pasture. That tail sure was a prize, it wafted in the wind just like a big boa. Maybe we should meet again. Word of caution however. Skunks are night feeders and to see one in the daytime like this is a bit unusual, in fact somewhat rare. Most would say beware of skunks walking around in the daytime, as they could be suffering from rabies.
Later on, flushed 5 bobwhite quail. They have returned, it appears, and now we wait for their calls, which are so neat.
Not long after starting out, I was standing on a spot and looked to my left and there it was, a big, mature skunk. It had the most elegant tail I have ever seen on a skunk. Had I had my .22, the tail might now be in the barn drying out. But I didn't have my .22 with me, so it got to keep the elegant tail for another time.
It was a two banded skunk. We have three variations of pepe le pew. Single, double, and even triple banded skunks. The name refers to the white stripe on its back starting just south of the head. It can be either single, or it can divide and then become the stripes for which it is named.
Skunks have poor eyesight. It continued to walk toward me because it had not yet spotted me. So, I tapped my metal walking stick on a rock to make some sound, and it looked up from its grubbing for insects, and looked at me for the longest time---maybe ten feet away. Finally it figured out that I was probably not "good news" and turned and walked away into the cedar breaks.
I then walked along a cleared fenceline, still on the hunt for arrowheads. About 20 minutes and 100 yards later, here is the skunk again right ahead of me in the cleared area. The skunk did the same thing, ignored me until I made noise then studied me for a minute or so, then ambled away.
This occurred again, almost exactly the same way, another 100 yards down the cleared fenceline. Finally, both the skunk and I decided this was enough of this play, so I became more aggressive and it ambled, this time a bit more rapidly, off to the right, through the fenceline and into the adjacent pasture. That tail sure was a prize, it wafted in the wind just like a big boa. Maybe we should meet again. Word of caution however. Skunks are night feeders and to see one in the daytime like this is a bit unusual, in fact somewhat rare. Most would say beware of skunks walking around in the daytime, as they could be suffering from rabies.
Later on, flushed 5 bobwhite quail. They have returned, it appears, and now we wait for their calls, which are so neat.
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