Pigs: Diamond, The Pot-Bellied Pig

(singing)


Our Pig Partner has a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on his farm he has a Pet Pig, E-I-E-I-O!

Meet Diamond. She's not for eating... she's a pet! Diamond's owner was getting older and wasn't able to take care of her anymore. Diamond was so fat (even for a pig!), and she had a diaper rash of sorts from laying in her pee-soaked blanket. The skin on her back was so dry that it flaked off in big pieces and often bled. Her nails needed trimming so badly (they were 4 or 5 inches long!) that she couldn't walk on her toes the way pigs usually do. She's starting to walk better, and with room to move, she is getting strong and healthy. She's super friendly, too. Mr. Farmer wants to bring her to our house, but she's better off with all that open space at the farm.

Bunny!

(singing)


Our Pig Partner has a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on his farm he has a Bunny, E-I-E-I-O!

Ok, so he has TWO bunnies... for now. After all, rabbits will do what rabbits do...

Skunk Wars: Part Three

That's right, this means war. I like skunks, I really do, but the fact that this one has eluded us for so long is getting to me. Now it's personal.

(In case you missed it, the stories of our previous attempts to catch the skunk(s) can be seen here: Part 1 - Opossum and here: Part 2 - Raccoon. If you don't feel like going back and clicking the links, here's a quick summary for you: I saw a skunk. We put out a trap. We caught a 'possum. We put the trap out again. We caught a raccoon. To be continued...)

We put the trap out again. And again. And again. The other day I thought I heard the trap rattling. It had not been checked that day, so I walked around and around trying to find it. I couldn't find it, but I heard a strange sound. There was scratching, and metal clinking, and water splashes. I followed the sound to a 55 gallon drum. I peeked carefully inside, through the spiderwebs that covered the top of the barrel, just over the edge in case it was something that could jump or bite or... gulp... spray me. When I finally got the guts to pull off the webs and look over the edge I saw.....

A soaking wet chipmunk.

The trap had been dragged off by some large animal. We dumped the chipmunk out and gave it its freedom, and reset the trap. That evening, when looking for Mr. Farmer right after dark, the fluffy white skunk walked right behind me. I swear I felt her little fuzzy tail brush against my heels. When I told Mr. Farmer of her brazenness, he told me she had hissed at him earlier in the day, and that he figured she was expecting. I went to bed a little freaked out, but with great hopes that we would catch her for sure. What pregnant animal could resist the DOUGHNUT we had baited the trap with? The next morning we checked it and FINALLY....

A neighbor's cat. Pole cat? Nope. House cat. Mr. Farmer released it before I could get a photo. I was more than a little disappointed about that. Then, to add insult to injury, he loaned the trap to a friend, dashing my hopes for skunk capture prior to reproduction.

So, for now, this story is still "to be continued." Arriving home late from work yesterday I watched the entire skunk family trot across my tomato garden in the light of my headlights. First the proud, sleekly black-tailed Papa, whom I had not seen before. Next came the fluffy white Mama with two black kittens in tow. They ducked under the house, and Mr. Farmer has vowed to put chicken wire reinforcements under the front porch to keep them out from underneath. Hopefully they will just move on. Otherwise, I guess we'll have to set that trap... again...

 

Not a Skunk

I am shaking my head in disbelief. We had another skunk sighting the other day, so Mr. Farmer set the live-catch trap again. When morning came we found this little guy in the trap:

Not a Skunk

For the zoologically challenged among you, the animal pictured above is a raccoon. It is not a skunk. You see, skunks are black with a white stripe of varying width down the back, and they spray nasty smelling musk when provoked.  They waddle around looking all cute and maybe dig up your garden a bit and harass your dog. Raccoons, on the other hand, have a mask-like pattern on their faces and ringed tails. They are nimble and slick and generally prefer your trash cans (which skunks aren't clever enough to get into) to your garden. They don't stink, either. When provoked, they arch their backs like cats and... well... run away. Pretty much the only thing these guys have in common with skunks is that they generally creep around at night, and that they could possibly carry rabies.

Remember this nasty guy?

Pennsylvania Tree Rat

This is not a skunk either. This is an opossum. He's a nasty, tree-climbing, giant, white rat who also found his way into my trap when trying to catch a skunk.

I'm starting to get frustrated now. That trap has caught many things over the years: cats, 'possum, 'coons, and yes, even skunks. Our desired prey is elusive, however, and we just can't seem to get him. When will it end?

Pocono Tree Rat

Sure, I can hear you saying it, "Aww... look at the cute little 'possum!" In his cage he looks innocent enough- perhaps even fuzzy and cuddly? I think not.

This little guy and his cohorts have been terrorizing my property for the past few days. First the dog started barking like the house was under attack. I went to the window to see a fat skunk waddling away from my herb garden. We warned the neighbor to keep an eye on his dog, who routinely runs without a leash, so that he could avoid disaster. The following evening we hear what sounded like a large rodent in the attic (ok, it's a crawlspace). We couldn't catch it in action, but it sounded much to big to be a mouse. When the sound changed to something that sounded like someone was moving furniture upstairs (we don't have an upstairs!), Mr. Farmer decided to set a live-catch trap in the yard.

I was a little surprised to see the opossum in the trap and not the skunk. After all, I knew the skunk was out there. He probably still is. It makes sense, however, that the noises overhead could be cause by the Pocono Tree Rat. For one, skunks don't climb. Secondly, 'possums are BIG, and they do climb. He was probably never in the house, just having a grand old time on the roof. They are rodents, and have the scratchy nails like mice and rats, so the scratching noises and the bumping noises all make sense.

Of course, that skunk is still out there somewhere....

*bites nails nervously*