Instant Karma

Well, it wasn't exactly instant, but almost.  Having been gone a month, re-entry into the cold was bad enough.  We dropped my parents off, and the smell of skunk in their foyer was undeniable.  When we had originally picked them up to drive down to Florida I suspected a skunk was living under their house.  They didn't think so, blaming it on the dog etc., but denial is a powerful thing and the skunk smell was strong and present.  Well we opened the door to their house after a month, and the odor is still there, and I was laughing about it.....30 minutes later we opened up our house to the same smell, maybe worse!!!!! Somehow something has taken residence under our house now, in the crawl space, or ?????????? My studio area is the worst.  Luckily there is snow outside, so maybe we can figure out how it is coming and going.  I understand, it's been a long and very cold winter, but in 25 years of living in the house including long periods of absensce, never was there such a tenant.  If you have any tips on how to encourage them to leave peacefully, PLEASE let me know.  I'm hoping that my dear dog Claude will inspire a rapid departure.  The moral to the story is compassion would have been kinder than laughing....but at least now we can share the experience together.  

Who knew?  Spotted western skunks, they can look like this too...