Up Close and Personal with a Polecat!
I cooked out the steaks and went inside to eat. After a great meal, I decided to go
sit back outside because it was such a nice evening. So I'm sitting there, in the waning
light and I saw what appeared to be a cat in the campsite next to us, under the picnic
table. This would not be unusual as most campgrounds have at least one stray cat
wandering around. As it moved closer, as in under my picnic table, I could see that
it was a cat alright, a POLECAT, (That's a SKUNK for you northern folks).
At this point I'm in a dilemma, if I make a sudden move and scare it, that will ruin
my week! So I sit very still and hope that he goes away. He moves closer, smelling
the grill which is about two feet in front of me. At this point he has no clue that I'm
there. So he turns around and starts walking away. Relief! But then, he has a change
of mind and starts walking back toward me. He gets within two inches of my leg
(I'm getting worried now), looks up and sees me, and backs up about a foot. At this
point I decided now was a good time to make tracks. I jumped from the chair and
sprinted across the street at the same time he turned around and ran in the opposite
direction. I may be old and slow but I can be fast when I have to be! I quickly grabbed
up my stuff and went back inside. Debbie thought this was all very funny.
Of course it wasn't her outside with the skunk!