Skunks, Porcupines - critter life.

I could hardly believe it when told there was a skunk getting into the cat's food on the front porch.
Do skunks exist? I've NEVER seen one.
However the next night I looked out onto the porch at dusk and there was this truly HANDSOME creature eating from the cat bowl!
I didn't know what to do. Chase it out or what? By the time I summoned help it was gone. Another time I was going around back to the carport when I saw a black and white tail disappearing over the woodpile, only about 6 feet away. So I stayed off the deck all summer long as I had NO desire to find out what one might smell like. It's good looks surprised me - I was told it was probably a young one. And everyone I talked to seemed to have a skunk in their yard here anyway. No big deal it seems.

But the skunk is no more. I was told one of the ranch dogs found it half way down the airstrip, and tossed it into the air. Poor dog rolled it's nose in the grass as it must have got a bit of a blast, before the critter was killed.

In a way I'm sad, but guess this is just how life goes. I've yet to see the coyotes. The deer are out by the cars when I leave at 6.30am every morning.

Another encounter - I thought there was a mangy dog killed on the side of the road last week, but no, it was a porcupine. I didn't get up close to it. Raccoons I see all the time as road kill.

All just part of the life here.

Still lots of smoke from the wild fires (bushfires).