It must be the mating season for skunks. They have come out looking for a partner but that is not what they are getting. The side of the highways are littered with skunk carcasses. Last year I had a slice related to seeing so many dead skunks (if you are really curious click here).
My eyes scanned the road ahead, as I was driving across the state, looking for that fluff of fur waving in the wind. I did not want to be caught unaware and actually hit a skunk (dead or alive). The odor lingers on tires for days, yuk! Several times my vigilance paid off, as I was able to avoid the carcass on the road. Occasionally a tire tread would be lying on the road, but from a distance it appeared to take the shape of a skunk. Fortunately, I was able to avoid those too.
I wonder if anyone does a body count when they are scraping this flattened fauna off the road? I lost count after seeing thirty bodies within the first fifty miles of my trip. Do these creatures not hear the sound of vehicles? Is the mating urge so great they will cross dangerous zones to complete their desires? These are questions swirling around in my mind when I view the carnage of the road.
Keep a lookout, the season continues! Phew!
Ahh….skunks on the road! At least you didn’t get sprayed by one. I always wonder what it must be like to be the person that collects the roadkill. I can’t imagine wanting to have that job! They must keep some sort of count.
I chuckled when you described your eyes starting to play tricks on you with the tire treads.
Elsie. I bought strawberries today and thought of you. The brand was Dole from Watsonville.
Loved your piece on skunks. I helped a friend skin a skunk for a 4-H project when we lived in California. Let me know if you ever want to make a black and white fur coat.
I grew up in a house that backed on to a little forest area. Our neighbour’s dogs would get sprayed every year. There isn’t a smell that is worse! It lingers forever. There are a lot of bad smells in my neighbourhood in China but your post made me appreciate them more, because there are no skunks around these parts!
Oh my, skunks. The smell comes quickly to my nose. Your post made me think of an area in which I run. It has many, many turkeys. Now those creatures I have never seen squashed in the road but they do startle me. I may have an idea for one of my posts before the end of March. Thank you!
I always think I am the only person who spends so much time wondering about roadkill. I am glad to find I am in good company! I saw a skunk cross the road the other day. He (?) used the crosswalk! True story.
My kids are the ones that notice skunks. If we pass by, one kid is accusing the other of being the stink bomb culprit. Kids.
I started seeing dead skunks on the roads three weeks ago. P.U.!
ugh Elise, I can see and smell your skunks. UGH!
Carnage on the road indeed….we narrowly missed one on our last walk with the dog – time to stack up on the tomato juice!
WOW, 30 skunks in 50 miles? They must be attracted to your area! (Lucky you, huh?) 🙂 We only see (or smell) them every once in a while around here! I liked the way you showed your curiosity in the last paragraph.
Guess they haven’t made it to AR yet – you can keep them up your way. Your slice is way too funny, but I do know what you’re talking about! Keep your eyes open, but be safe in trying to avoid them.
This is funny to read while sitting in Edmonton, snow everywhere and no end to winter for at least a few weeks. Would I trade snow for skunks? 🙂
And, “Is the mating urge so great they will cross dangerous zones to complete their desires?” Ha! I don’t know if you’re just talking about skunks anymore? 🙂
Nice slice! And, thanks again for all the lovely comments you’ve left on my blog. Greatly appreciated!
Love that you write about strawberries one day and skunks the next. 🙂
Ruth
Here in my neck of North Carolina, opossums are among the dead. And suicide squirrels (what I named them during a phase in college when it seemed I hit a squirrel or two a day!).
Your post reminds me, though, of LilyBell’s favorite book at the moment: Robert Munsch’s Smelly Socks. The main character wears her new socks so long without washing that even the skunks keel over from the smell!
I too thought of the Ernest Mann poem, but when you wrote, Elsie, I remembered this early spring time in Missouri growing up & seeing so many skunks on the road. I think you must be right-it’s that mating urge. I like that you really watched and counted. The smell is powerful, isn’t it?
Elsie, this post made me think a poem by Naomi Shahib Nye, “A Poem for Earnest Mann.” In case you’re not familiar with it, here’s a link to it:
http://www.uuwestport.org/Readings/valentine.html
She’s one of my favorite poets. I love many of her books of poetry, but love sharing the book, A Maze Me: Poems for Girls with my middle school readers.
Oh my! Poor skunks – looking for love and finding a fender 🙂 Be safe out there – it certainly would put me off my strawberries to have that oder lingering around the car.
You’ve got lots of wondering questions about skunks (makes me want to google)…one of my friends actually loves the odor of skunks. I think that is just crazy!
You must be in the skunk capital of the world! It sounds like a regular pastime in your neck of the woods–avoiding skunkarcasses. I love the words “flattened fauna.” I also enjoyed the vocabulary lesson from last year. Continue to have good luck with your drive.