Shifting Time Frames

June 20, 02

In the time interval between last week's skunk report and the current writing, I trapped two more adult skunks and 14 baby skunks. That seemed like quite a few in a relatively short period of time. The babies were like little kittens. I played with them for what I thought was minutes, but my wife claims was hours.

I also toured them around to all neighbors that had kids so that they could see them and pet them and experience a tiny bit of nature up close. Most adults that had been born and raised in the country up here said that they had foxes, or raccoons, or woodchucks as pets when they were kids, but nobody had skunks. They all assured me that skunks make great pets if descented, but they also assured me that they can't spray until they are at least a year old.

Upon relaying this information to the last family that I visited, they said that they would take four of the babies for the kids to play with for a while before deciding whether or not to keep them. Evidently, after I left, not ten minutes had passed before one of the kids received a direct hit at point blank range inside the house. Clothes were stripped and burned, windows were opened, and farmhouse evacuation procedures were executed. I never heard whether they remembered to pack out the skunk kits in midflight.

If you happen to hear of a family of Rainbow People living out in the forest surrounding Crandon, don't believe it. They are just some of my neighbors on a spontaneous outing. I am sure that time will pass quickly while they await return to their domicile (but it may be some time before I am allowed to darken their doorstep again).

Time got a little warped for me when I was playintg with Kookamunga Camel in the paddock this week, too. I was generally messing with him, trying to get him used to me picking up his feet and feeding him treats. I also plucked a bunch of wool out of his coat. We are saving it for carding and spinning. It is very soft, luxurious, tan wool. He is being really good about not biting or spitting.

Anyway, I was ready to end our session, and decided to leave the paddock by crawling between the boards of the fence rather than going through the gate. I bent down and got about a third of the way through the fence when Kook decided that he wasn't ready for me to leave yet. He snuck up behind me and pinned me down to the ground with his chest, which meant that he had to get down on his knees to do it. And then he just sat there. No biting, no spitting, and no kicking on Kook's part. I can't report that I was quite as well behaved, though. That is when time started warping a bit for me. The mind races, but time drags when you are all alone and have a camel lying on your back. After a length of time that only Einstein could define in terms of general relativity, the camel just got up and sauntered away. I walked up to him and asked him what that was all about, but he plead innocent ignorance. The big dummy.

From now on, I leave the paddock through the gate.