Houston, We Have a Little Stinker

This morning I was down at the barn mucking stalls during what New Hampshire gets from a close call with a tropical storm - Heavy Rain and Wind. I do enjoy mucking, as many horse owner do, for some strange reason. For me it has a lot to do with being able to get some alone time, being able to listen (and sometimes even sing) to good country music, and getting an outlet for some good old physical work. This morning was extra special though because with every breeze that came through the barn door and down the aisle I got a reminder of the joy I would have when I re-entered our home. I would have the opportunity to announce to the family that "we caught a little stinker"! Yes, this year the Page family has had the opportunity to relocate probably half of the skunk population in the town of Webster!
It started in the Spring. We noticed that either our two barn cats had grown an obsessive appetite for kibbles or we had an invader helping themselves to the dinner bowl. After my husband walked in one night to see a skunk huddled in the back corner of the barn aisle we knew what the "issue" was. After consulting with his brother, the owner of Advanced Wildlife Services, we began setting up live animal traps in the barn aisle. For those of you think we'd just get "skunked", the trick is to cover them with a tarp (or in this case an old towel) and the skunk will keep his (or her) smell to themselves. Also, apparently they can't lift their tail to spray from a trap even if they wanted to. So when you catch one, the only smell you can smell is a faint odor left on their fur from the last animal (or person) they sprayed. ah ha!
This has become an exciting event for our family. My husband usually is the one who heads down to the barn to "check things out". If the trap is sprung, he'll call up to the house on his cell phone and announce, in the tone of the astronauts to mission control, "We've caught a little stinker"! I relay the message and the kids spring up, arms stretched up in the air and make kids noises (yeah, alright, good job). They quickly look for their shoes and head down to the barn to view the prisoner. I wait, with a big smile on my face from the excitement of the kids (and joy of the capture) to get all the details; size, how much black vs. white, etc. When my husband is ready, they load the trap (towel still in place) in the truck and head a few miles away, across the river, where the skunk is sure not to find his way "home". I enjoy this time of quiet, now looking forward to the details of the release; how fast did he leave the trap, did he run or waddle, and most importantly, did he try to spray?? After the process is complete the trap is reset and we wait for the next catch.
The other night my husband called up to announce another catch when all of a sudden I heard a squeal (from my husband) the phone sounded like it was dropped and there was a bit of confusion happening on the other end of the line. When Patrick got back on the phone he said, a bit out of breath, that there was another skunk in the barn aside from the one that was captured and it had just run right by him and into an empty stall. Feeling I needed to speak quietly so the skunk wouldn't be disturbed and spray, I whispered, "Ok, I'll let you go now". He whispered back "Ok". When he made his way up to the house he said he had another trap that he set and was hoping to get a double catch for the night! In the morning, sure enough the call came, "We have a double, two little stinkers!" Talk about excitement!
As exciting as the entire event is, the goal is to NOT have any more captures, but to have a skunk free barn. Well, here it is the end of Summer and as I mucked stalls this morning I was anxious to get up to the house and make the announcement. We have a little stinker! Hopefully, eventually, the fun will end!