Why didn’t I think of this sooner…skunk.

After I had checked on the monarchs, I went to roll up the shade on my office window, and immediately was grateful the window was closed.

Right outside was a skunk, happily digging just off the safety glass bed, within two to three feet of the window.  (Even when we finally get every last bit of the stuff out of there, it will forever be the safety glass bed, lest we forget the travails of clearing it.)

I know we have quite a few around here.  I’ve seen them.  Heck, we even had a family of them living under the front porch of the apartment we rented two blocks away before buying the house.  (I am not kidding.  We’d warn folks if they came to visit.  The landlady waited until after we moved out to finally pay someone to clear out all the junk under there they’d been hiding/living behind.  I guess the new tenant was not as tolerant as we were.)  Fortunately, we’ve never had any confrontations *she writes as she knocks on wood*.

I was worried a flash might startle the heck out of it, and window closed or not, did not want it to spray.  So I snapped a few pics, trying to follow it through the yard as it wandered towards the rock wall.

When I put them into Photoshop to see if I could wrest anything worthwhile out of them, these were the best two shots I managed by letting auto contrast do the hard work of making what was an almost black shot something else.  (The skunk is circled in purple in each):

So that could have been an interesting start to the morning, had I not noticed when rolling up the shade, and headed outside and see what I could see before scouting for more blackberries once it was light enough.  (Did I mention they’re starting to be ready for picking?  Well if not, I just did.)

Of course, as I was watching it dig up various spots, that’s when it dawned on me, “You dummy, what do skunks eat?”  I have some vague notions, but no hard and fast average list.  Back to research time for me.

Quick addition, and thank you wiki:

Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and changing their diets as the seasons change. They eat insects and larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles and eggs. They also commonly eat berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi and nuts.

In settled areas, skunks also seek garbage left by humans. Less often, skunks may be found acting as scavengers, eating bird and rodent carcasses left by cats or other animals. Pet owners, particularly those of cats, may experience a skunk finding its way into a garage or basement where pet food is kept. Skunks commonly dig holes in lawns in search of grubs and worms.

Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate. Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.

I know we have bumble and mason bees in our soil.  They might have hit one of the underground hives, or at least by the safety glass bed, robbed the Acorn Bombers’ stash.