Well, tonight was the night for the boys to spend the night at Mimi Pearl’s house. We entertained their girlfriends a little earlier in the evening, but the boys opted to wait until the girls left before they ordered their pizzas. Be sure and notice the number of empty coke bottles on the table. What the photo doesn’t show is the 3 large pizza boxes, the contents of which will be consumed in short order. These boys are eating machines.
I have to brag on these eating machines, though. Will, Kevin, and Quinton will be in the 10th grade this year and they have been a joy (most days) to all who know them. The young man in the center is quite a talented photographer and he will be sharing the photos he took at Philmont, NM on his boy scout trip a few weeks ago.
I hope I’ve got them convinced to stay in the house. I told them about the 3 skunks I saw crossing the road on my way home from picking up the pizzas (no pizza delivery out where the owls hoot in the daytime). The last time I had teens spending the night here, they thought they’d get out and roam around a bit. MH and I didn’t sleep a wink that night for worrying they’d slip out again after we went to sleep, but my grandson can probably tell his city slicker friends how truly disastrous it would be to meet up with a visiting skunk. And if only Squirt could talk, he could give them a firsthand account of his own experiences.
Last fall just after the soybeans around our house were harvested (last year it was soybeans and not cotton), Squirt was after something out in the yard. Whatever it was, he was in quite a state both day and night. We make him stay inside the confines of the fence after dark because he has tangled with various wild animals and nearly lost his life a couple of times already, but I thought he’d be safe in the daytime so I just let him out the garage door as he knows to stay away from the road for fear of the dreaded fly swatter. After he’d been out for a very short time, I heard him barking at the back door with urgency. Although it was a little unlike him to want back in quite so soon, I went to the door and the minute I opened the door the odor nearly knocked me down. Before he could enter I slammed the door and simultaneously panicked. It was a pitiful sight as I looked out the window. He had been sprayed by a skunk and was scrubbing his little face in the grass. I couldn’t think what to do so I started running a tub of warm water and dumped quite a few glugs of white vinegar in it. Who knows why I thought white vinegar would be a good choice, but I knew I couldn’t wash him off with bleach. Then I set about finding a towel I could throw away. Finally I braved a trip outside and threw the towel over him and picked him up in it. I did the best I could to bathe the odor away, but I had a real mess on my hands. The odor was in my house and in my nose for several days. The vet gave me some dog shampoo that did help quite a bit, and then I called for another visit from our friendly and helpful (albeit costly) “Critter Getter”, written about in a previous blog post. Well the Critter Getter trapped 5 skunks, 6 possums, 4 cats, and 2 rabbits in my yard and its immediate surroundings within the week. It was worth every penny it cost to see the skunks and possums hauled far away, although a few of those skunks left me something to remember them by. The poor cats and rabbits were simply released on the spot. After the sight of 3 skunks crossing the road tonight not more than a mile from my house, I am getting a little worried that we could have an encore of last fall's performance.
And to think.... someone e-mailed me just this past week to say that they loved hearing about the carefree lifestyle I now enjoy. Heaven help me.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
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2 comments:
Carol...I have to share that my dad used buckets of tomato juice to wash skunk off his car...[and him I believe] many many years ago. Might be worth a few cans on the shelf for Squirt?? I know vinegar could be good...but at least tomato juice is 'drinkable'?? and PS...what handsome young men you have...sounds like fun!
I had heard about the tomato juice remedy but I didn't have a can or bottle of tomato anything in my house when it happened - or if I did, I was too panicked to find it. I do now, though!
Those boys ate 3 huge pizzas and then made grilled cheese sandwiches just past midnight. The one on the far right is my oldest grandson. All of them are very slender, but you can't believe how they eat.
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