David64
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Keep in mind we have a lot of stray cats around and when I walk out in the field or go check on the fruit tress, sometimes a couple of them will follow me.
So I go out to check on one of my pear trees yesterday around dusk. The Sun hasn't set yet but it's that time of day when it starts to cool down and everything in that part of the yard is in shade. One of my pears trees bloomed late and not producing like it did last year and it's probably just in it's biennial, but I wanted to check and make sure there was no disease or damage.
I'm standing there, picking a few off and dropping them on the ground when I feel something brush against my leg. Didn't think anything of it, the cats do it all the time when we're out there. Looked down to see which one it was and thought "We don't have a black and white THAT'S NOT A CAT". It was a skunk. Probably a young one or a female because it was about the same size as a cat.
Yes I was armed. No I didn't shoot it. It wasn't displaying any aggression, it was just interested in the fruit I was dropping. It came up out of the creek that runs behind the property. It's lined on both sides with trees and it's cooler under there with the water flowing and a good place for the local wildlife to drink when it's hot. I dump fish back there after i clean them and skunks are opportunistic feeders which means they'll eat meat, vegetables, and fruit when available. Still startled me for a second, but if it's happy, I'm not gonna run.
Probably should explain "biennial". It's when fruit trees produce heavy one year and then kinda take a break the next, but then come back again the next year. You need to check them because in older trees, it can be a sign of disease, damage, they need to be trimmed or they're just getting too old to bear.
So I go out to check on one of my pear trees yesterday around dusk. The Sun hasn't set yet but it's that time of day when it starts to cool down and everything in that part of the yard is in shade. One of my pears trees bloomed late and not producing like it did last year and it's probably just in it's biennial, but I wanted to check and make sure there was no disease or damage.
I'm standing there, picking a few off and dropping them on the ground when I feel something brush against my leg. Didn't think anything of it, the cats do it all the time when we're out there. Looked down to see which one it was and thought "We don't have a black and white THAT'S NOT A CAT". It was a skunk. Probably a young one or a female because it was about the same size as a cat.
Yes I was armed. No I didn't shoot it. It wasn't displaying any aggression, it was just interested in the fruit I was dropping. It came up out of the creek that runs behind the property. It's lined on both sides with trees and it's cooler under there with the water flowing and a good place for the local wildlife to drink when it's hot. I dump fish back there after i clean them and skunks are opportunistic feeders which means they'll eat meat, vegetables, and fruit when available. Still startled me for a second, but if it's happy, I'm not gonna run.
Probably should explain "biennial". It's when fruit trees produce heavy one year and then kinda take a break the next, but then come back again the next year. You need to check them because in older trees, it can be a sign of disease, damage, they need to be trimmed or they're just getting too old to bear.
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