Saturday, February 20, 2016

Stinky Bear Cub Badger Thing; Stinky Shoe, Family Holds Breath, Nice Bike Shop

We were on our way to the bike shop as Jeff's bicycle gears were in much need or something-or-other, when I thought I spotted a black bear cub road kill.  As usual, I begged Jeff to stop so that I could have a new taxidermy project.  Once I got up close to it I thought it looked more like a badger or something, but I really couldn't tell what it was.   I had to find out.  So, I gently kicked it over with my shoe, and then the tail popped out from underneath it -- and I discovered that it was a SKUNK!  But it didn't have a stripe down its back-- that was why I was confused.  But it did have a small white spot on its head (that I could not see until I rolled it over).  After researching a bit I have discovered that there are two types of skunks: striped and spotted.   Our deceased find was obviously of the latter type.

Much disappointed, I got back in the car.  I shut the door, and a few seconds later the entire car began to reek horribly.  Oh dear, I must have gotten some fresh skunk spray on my shoe when I kicked it over I thought.  There were five of us in the car, and four of us were not very happy.  As soon as we got to the bike shop (which fortunately wasn't too much farther down the road) five Swansons quickly emerged from the car.  Four went inside the bike shop while I remained in the parking lot.  I scraped my stinky shoe in the dirt and then in the snow, squirted hand sanitizer all over the bottom of the shoe and then repeated the process a few times.  Then I cautiously entered the bike shop.  Thankfully, the smell was gone.  So much for my next taxidermy project.