Derek Thompson
Active member
I thought I would post another one of my "adventure " stories
Today, I started training for a 2K; not a 5K but a 2K. This wasn’t on my original plan for today but at 6:00 a.m. my day started a little different.
As you may or may not know; my wife has cats in the barn and she really likes them. That’s ok; it makes her happy BUT there is a price to pay for cats and cat food in the barn. Every spring there is an extra critter or two that shows up for the free breakfast. This year is no different. A couple of days ago; my wife informed me that all of the cat food was gone in the morning. That is a sure sign that something has shown up and is “eating for free” Of course this always sets my trapping skills to the challenge. I set the trap and the little SOB ate all of the food without setting the live trap off. Grrrr. Ok, go to my never fail plan B. get the toilet paper towel roll, line the inside with soft cat food and tie it up in the front corner of the live trap. The little SOB eats the dry food crumbs in the trap and goes for the sweet smelling desert and has to “fight to get it” and Bingo, sets the trap off.
I went down to the barn early this a.m. because I have to get on the road early for NW Iowa. My anticipation is high. I just know that I caught the furry little critter and I am hoping it is a possum so I don’t have to deal with a skunk. Half way to the barn; I get a whiff of skunk. Hmmm, not good. 75 ft closer; it is more than a whiff. Dang, I caught a skunk and he sprayed in the barn. Not good.
I ease the barn door open so I can look around the corner to check the trap without exciting the skunk any more than needed and the trap is EMPTY. What the heck????? A quick tour of the barn. Nothing. What the heck. Oh well I will check it all out in more detail tonight when I get back
As I stepped out of the barn; I looked out to see a dark spot rapidly approaching across the hay field. Here comes a skunk. One of the biggest skunks I have ever seen. This sucker will easily go 20 pounds. At least that is what it looked like at 6:10 this morning in the “its still pretty dark out”.
I am scrambling to unlock the barn walk door to my side; where my trusty old single shot barn rifle is laying. I have the barn door open, rifle in hand, trying to get a shell out of the shell holder and into the action. I am loaded. The skunk is on a mission to head for the barn. Wait, he sees me diving out the door to meet him. In the mean time I am trying to remember how to turn on the friggin laser that I mounted on the rifle. The skunk detours towards the road. The little sucker is pretty fast. I am in hot pursuit up the middle of the road. Halfway to the neighbors and I am thinking; Hmmm this might not look good running him up to their front door and shooting him there. About that time the skunk cuts hard right; through the ditch and across the bean field. The SOB is trying to circle back to the barn. Dang. I put it into road gear and get between him and the barn. He is now running straight East. I decide to try a shot. Did I mention that it is a little after 6:00 and its still dark. I can’t see squat through the scope. Wait, there is the green dot from the laser. The skunk is still running; I am half winded and there is a 6 mph cross wind. I missed. Now I have to run like heck to catch up to the skunk who has seemed to gained an accelerated interest in getting the “heck out of Dodge” I ran that skunk all the way across the 80 Acre field to the fence. Of course he slid right under and I am trying to figure out how to get across barb wire and a “HOT” wire without getting the “boys” electrified or torn. It looks like I have him boxed in at the crick. I am across one fence and catching some wind. I decide to try another shot. BTW, did I mention about the difficulty of trying to load a single shot bolt action 22 while running?? Sometimes I never cease to amaze myself on my dexterity. Back to the shot. It’s still pretty dark. I can’t find the skunk in the scope. Back to lining up the laser. Missed again. The skunk has a renewed effort in leaving my vicinity. He is now heading North; across the pasture. And that is up hill. He didn’t seem to notice but now I am really getting in shape for a run. I also noted that I forgot my phone so I won’t be able to call 911 when I have a heart attack. Needless to say the SOB outran me. I had another two fences to cross and I just could not catch back up.
Tonight I doubled up on the traps. The challenge is on !! And I am getting in shape for a 2K
Today, I started training for a 2K; not a 5K but a 2K. This wasn’t on my original plan for today but at 6:00 a.m. my day started a little different.
As you may or may not know; my wife has cats in the barn and she really likes them. That’s ok; it makes her happy BUT there is a price to pay for cats and cat food in the barn. Every spring there is an extra critter or two that shows up for the free breakfast. This year is no different. A couple of days ago; my wife informed me that all of the cat food was gone in the morning. That is a sure sign that something has shown up and is “eating for free” Of course this always sets my trapping skills to the challenge. I set the trap and the little SOB ate all of the food without setting the live trap off. Grrrr. Ok, go to my never fail plan B. get the toilet paper towel roll, line the inside with soft cat food and tie it up in the front corner of the live trap. The little SOB eats the dry food crumbs in the trap and goes for the sweet smelling desert and has to “fight to get it” and Bingo, sets the trap off.
I went down to the barn early this a.m. because I have to get on the road early for NW Iowa. My anticipation is high. I just know that I caught the furry little critter and I am hoping it is a possum so I don’t have to deal with a skunk. Half way to the barn; I get a whiff of skunk. Hmmm, not good. 75 ft closer; it is more than a whiff. Dang, I caught a skunk and he sprayed in the barn. Not good.
I ease the barn door open so I can look around the corner to check the trap without exciting the skunk any more than needed and the trap is EMPTY. What the heck????? A quick tour of the barn. Nothing. What the heck. Oh well I will check it all out in more detail tonight when I get back
As I stepped out of the barn; I looked out to see a dark spot rapidly approaching across the hay field. Here comes a skunk. One of the biggest skunks I have ever seen. This sucker will easily go 20 pounds. At least that is what it looked like at 6:10 this morning in the “its still pretty dark out”.
I am scrambling to unlock the barn walk door to my side; where my trusty old single shot barn rifle is laying. I have the barn door open, rifle in hand, trying to get a shell out of the shell holder and into the action. I am loaded. The skunk is on a mission to head for the barn. Wait, he sees me diving out the door to meet him. In the mean time I am trying to remember how to turn on the friggin laser that I mounted on the rifle. The skunk detours towards the road. The little sucker is pretty fast. I am in hot pursuit up the middle of the road. Halfway to the neighbors and I am thinking; Hmmm this might not look good running him up to their front door and shooting him there. About that time the skunk cuts hard right; through the ditch and across the bean field. The SOB is trying to circle back to the barn. Dang. I put it into road gear and get between him and the barn. He is now running straight East. I decide to try a shot. Did I mention that it is a little after 6:00 and its still dark. I can’t see squat through the scope. Wait, there is the green dot from the laser. The skunk is still running; I am half winded and there is a 6 mph cross wind. I missed. Now I have to run like heck to catch up to the skunk who has seemed to gained an accelerated interest in getting the “heck out of Dodge” I ran that skunk all the way across the 80 Acre field to the fence. Of course he slid right under and I am trying to figure out how to get across barb wire and a “HOT” wire without getting the “boys” electrified or torn. It looks like I have him boxed in at the crick. I am across one fence and catching some wind. I decide to try another shot. BTW, did I mention about the difficulty of trying to load a single shot bolt action 22 while running?? Sometimes I never cease to amaze myself on my dexterity. Back to the shot. It’s still pretty dark. I can’t find the skunk in the scope. Back to lining up the laser. Missed again. The skunk has a renewed effort in leaving my vicinity. He is now heading North; across the pasture. And that is up hill. He didn’t seem to notice but now I am really getting in shape for a run. I also noted that I forgot my phone so I won’t be able to call 911 when I have a heart attack. Needless to say the SOB outran me. I had another two fences to cross and I just could not catch back up.
Tonight I doubled up on the traps. The challenge is on !! And I am getting in shape for a 2K
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