Rich wants me to ask my "western" friends on Kirby's board... We have a skunk living under our shed, and he wants it to live somewhere else. Of course, I told him you're asking the wrong people, because they're gonna recommend a .22 between the eyes :) He wants to dispose of it humanely, like with a hav-a-hart trap which makes me laugh even harder, because this is the guy who jumps on a chair when a mouse runs across the floor. As fearless as he can be, animals aren't his thing :) Anyway, for real, does anyone have any suggestions? If we can get it to go out, like at night, we can block up the space underneath while he's out. The problem is, Rich thinks he'll come back while he's blocking up the hole and get pissed off and spray him. I think that once they're out for the night, they don't come back home till morning. Does anyone know skunk habits or have any suggestions? To call a wildlife specialist to do it around here is like $400 bucks. Rich doesn't even like tooling around in the shed anymore, which is his hobby, because he hears the skunk under there all the time. I think this whole thing is hysterical. But it's not cool with the kids playing back there.
Make a loud noise to scare the skunk so he runs out into the road and gets squashed by a passing car. That's how they solve the skunk problem here in Virginia. Seriously!! But beware. A squashed skunk smells just as bad as a live one. We pass them all the time in the road and the smell hits you and stays with you for a long time!
But if you're into 'Preservation of Stinky Skunks' I guess you could make sure he can't get into his hideout and is forced to find dwellings elsewhere.
Our dog frequently dances with skunks. Had a long talk with my vet about how to de-scent Murdock after he's been skunk-dancing. Someone told me Massengill Douche works best, I think because of the vinegar in it -- any flavor except medicated -- the iodine stains (add insult to injury!). If you're in the U.S., talk to your County Extension Service about ways to discourage woods kitties.
Okay, who's posing as Britney :) You guys are too much! :) If I didn't know better, I'd think it was Dave Lundy. Now there's a name we haven't seen in a while!
Kaye, look at one of my postings on this board from last summer...I got a recipe from my vet that took the skunk smell off my cat immediately. I can't believe how well it worked. It was something like 2 quarts of hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 2 tablespoons of liquid soap, like dish soap or shampoo. Double that recipe for a big dog. Mix it all up in a container, pour it over their fur and work it in and then rinse it off. By the time the fur dries, your dog will smell good enough to let inside. Really!
I got a freakin' speeding ticket this morning. Just my luck. I was trying to get home in time to get my son on the bus when good 'ol Officer Mills in his unmarked car singles ME out of everyone for doing 66 in a 45. Then he gives me a ticket and says the courts are backed up for a year, but if I plead not guilty, they're usually lenient on mothers in minivans trying to get their kids off to school. Gee. Thanks a lot. He couldn't just give me a warning. Doesn't he have to go catch a rapist or eat a donut or something? What are my chances that he doesn't show up? Probably none, because I have no luck when it comes to this stuff and I really stink at talking my way out of it. Rich says to just plead guilty and be done with it, but no way. I have no tickets or points on my license or anything, and I don't even think I was speeding in the first place, but how can I argue that?
I'm so fired-up annoyed that I could about go in the backyard right now and wrassle that skunk!
Tough break being nabbed for speeding. But it's your word against Officer Mills. And who are they going to believe? It really is pathetic the way cops just pick out one person and let others who are going over 65 pass by. But they can't stop them all and I guess it was your turn to get caught this time.
I agree with your husband. Just pay the fine and forget about it. But of course if you want to fight it out ... then good luck!
You know what bugs me most, Paul? He took the wind right out of my sails...it was such a nice, sunny day, so I took the kids out to get their new spring shoes, and while I was there, I bought a cute pair of black sandals for myself, which is a big deal, because I never buy myself anything. I just came off a gruelling two weeks of dealing with Sophie and the puke virus, so this was a real treat for me. I had only pulled out of the shoe store parking lot minutes before, and I was even about to start whistling when those damn flashing lights went on. In fact, he was in front of me and off to the side of the road when he first put them on. He just nabbed the easiest person that drove by. I wasn't speeding. I was merely..accelerating. He took the whole thrill out of the shoe thing. Now, I look at those sandals and hate them because of him. So I wore them the whole day till my feet were freezing to get my money's worth. Thanks for nuthin', creep! The rest of my day went to pot afterwards. I guess it's sorta funny. But I'm sure I won't be laughing when I get to court next year or whenever.
You know what your description of a spoilt day reminds me of? Being bullied at school. You're feeling fine and some jerk starts picking on you for no good reason.
That's what the police are like. Picking easy targets like bullies at school. You see huge trucks speeding all the time and the police always seem to pick on the small guy. No wonder so many youngsters have little respect for them.
I'm not a cop basher but they do annoy me at times.
I find it weird that this thread began with a discussion about skunks and ends with Gina getting a ticket from a cop. It stinks, whichever way you look at it!
Yeah, that's right - it stinks! The whole thing stinks!
Is that why cops are known as "pigs?" I never did get that.
You know, I did get back to look under that shed. The skunk lives in the front corner, and I couldn't really see anything, but my new plan is to block up all around the entire shed except for one tiny opening, and somehow, when we know it's out, block up that last little opening. The one problem with that is that it might feel even safer being blocked up all around. Maybe I'll just go out tomorrow and get another speeding ticket and think on it some more.
I don't want to cop-bash, either, but you know what else cracks me up, Paul? I know a couple of guys I grew up with that became cops, and they were the BIGGEST derelicts and delinquents and druggies you ever met!!! Now they're just criminals with badges. And where's a cop when you need one - like all the times I see drunk drivers weaving all over the road...why, they're busy taking care of the big threats to society like us, that's where they are!
I'm back from Arizona, and I'm dead-tired and headed for bed. I got back at 10:30 PM and had to be to work at midnight. But I saw the cop-bashing thread (like it or not, it's pretty plain that's what it is), and I couldn't help but reply. Both Dave Lundy and I have been cops, and while neither of us is one anymore, I think I can speak for us both in saying it's pretty sad how easily people get offended when they are caught breaking the law, yet probably the first yelling, "Go get 'em!" when that same cop is pulling over the speeder who just passed us on the highway.
I could go into a forty page book on the injustices of both sides of the law keeping system. But suffice it to say, most people seem to think cops can be all places at once, and I can vouch for the fact that they can't. I've had one speeding ticket out of the ten or so times I've been stopped, and if I hadn't been speeding that time, down by Prescott Valley, Arizona, that cop could have been giving someone else a ticket or possibly arresting a drunk driver. A cop takes the "offenders" as they appear. He can't just let every speeder go because there might be a rape call pending, and if a more important call actually came in during the service of a ticket, you'd be amazed how fast a cop can decide to let the speeder (or whoever) go on their merry way. And the fact of the matter is, many of these so-called "innocent" speeders end up having warrants out on them for anything from kidnapping to rape to murder. A few thoughts to think about next time we're griping about being the victim. Let's all try living in a world where cops don't exist and see how long we do exist.
Kirby
P.S. In case any of you wonder if I'm irritated about cop bashing, I'm not. I'm just talking plain facts and absolute common sense. I guarantee there have been a far larger number of times I've been glad the cops were around than times I wished they weren't.
Kirby, you probably got off the ticket the other nine times because you flashed that little card that says you were a cop. Let's face it, cops are above the law. I've seen it with my own eyes.
I don't want to cop bash. It's a tough job and they deal with the dregs of society. But I ain't one of 'em and with the amount of stoplights on this particular road I was driving, in my 4 cylinder weenie wagon it was impossible for me, or almost anyone, to be speeding. This guy knew he was writing a bogus ticket or else he wouldn't have told me to plead not guilty.
But hey - WELCOME BACK! You'll have to tell us all about your trip.
Before I respond to Gina, I feel it imperative to remind everyone that she and I are friends, and no hard feelings EVER come from anything we say back and forth. Now....
Gina, I sure hope you were joking about my flashing my badge to get out of tickets. I think you know me better than that. MY TICKETS, that is. I did flash the badge to get Debbie out of a ticket one of the few times I was snoozing and letting her drive, though. I didn't feel it was very fair MY insurance was going to go up because I was responsible enough to stop driving when I was dead tired. To be truthful, most cops don't show any mercy to cops from other towns, as they have this rivalry thing going and most cops HATE another cop who tries to use his ID to get out of something. But if a cop somehow KNOWS the guy is an officer, you're right--he is probably more likely to get out of a ticket. The cop writing it may be stopped by that guy the next time!
The other times I was just nice and polite and greeted the cops with a smile (and a crisp new twenty dollar bill!). Seriously, I've never tried to talk my way out of a ticket except for the one Debbie was getting. By the way, she was just as mad as you when she got her speeding ticket a few years ago. But she knew she was speeding. Which by the way it sure took you a long time in that post to say you "didn't think" you were even speeding. Are you saying you were in this hurry to get somewhere but were so law abiding you were letting everyone else just fly past you while you cautiously drove along at the speed limit? Maybe you were right--we should be writing novels together after all! hehe. I personally wish I could say I was not a speeder, but I can't. I'm in way too much of a hurry most of the time, and I'll admit it any place, any time (except in court!). :)
A twenty?! Why he couldn't even buy girlscout cookies around here with that! :) I'll tell ya, when I pulled out my wallet to hand him my license, I had a devious thought to roll up a bill and stick it behind there, but when I looked inside, I only had $3. With my luck, he'd have taken the money and then wrote me up for an extra infraction to boot. I don't think I'm the kind of person that could have pulled it off, anyway. It definitely takes that certain kind of personality and more nerve that I admit to having to do that.
So, you don't believe me. Hmpf. Rich didn't either. Go figure. Well, at least I know I have a real friend like Paul who'll stick by me.
I do not contribute to Kirby’s web board as much as I once did due to nerve pain medication that has wrecked my ability to focus and concentrate. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get in on the police officer issue. I am as sorry as I can be Gina that you got a ticket but as Kirby indicated, I was once a Sheriff’s deputy and detective years ago and I have also ran radar on county roads. I did my best to fairly apply the law in every situation but it was hard to keep my emotions out of the process sometimes. Law enforcement officers are people just like you and me. They have family problems, money problems, bad days and good days like everyone but they cannot and should not allow their bad days to interfere with law enforcement no matter how many times they are verbally and physically abused or vomited on by drunks. Lastly, I have met too many people who were sorrier they were caught than they were for breaking the law.
Some police officers deserve criticism if they are out of line. And if so, you need to contact their chief and let them know.
Hi Dave, great to hear from you again. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope that eventually your pain will subside and you will be able to enjoy your retirement. Maybe you'll even be able to catch a Rockie's game at the stadium. I'll check the schedule to see when the Yanks are in town. I'm sure you're looking forward to spending some time with your soon-to-be grandchild. Keep us posted if it's a boy or a girl. How exciting. I hope your family is doing okay. Don't work too hard.
I used to live in the Westend of Vancouver near Stanley Park which has a big population of skunks, squireels and racoons and I came home one night from night school to my apartment building and right at the main entrance was this huge skunk so I back tracked and went up to the side entrance. I was shaking as I thought he was going to spray me. A few times that I was taking the garbage there would be one by the dumpster. There was often the smell of a skunk who was run over by a car too and what stench that is. When we were first married we had a nice big townhouse in North Vancouver which had a peaked roof and we one day we heard this scatching sound coming from the attic area but it went away but the next thing the phone went dead. The telephone repair came and he had to check the wires in the attic area and it turned out that squirrels had eaten thru the telephone wire. We told the manager and they set up a humane trap and caught a few squirrls and one racoon and they fixed the roof so no new creatures would disturb us. Kate