50+ thread

lies....
many years ago while camping with my family at a very popular campground my friend and i were out riding our bikes. stopped by the water pump for a drink and next to the pump was a shed where the campground folks kept the outhouse supplies and lawnmower and such. this giant skunk the size of a cocker spaniel came out of the grass behind the shed about 15' from where we were standing. we hauled ass out of there and told our families what we had seen. my friend's grandparents didn't believe us, though we were just telling tall tales to get a rise out of the adults. my dad did believe us (this was a couple years after the "a mountain lion has mom trapped in the outhouse" incident so he knew i had no reason to make stuff up.) and the hunt was on.
it took a couple of days but after putting everyone on high alert and keeping all of the dogs in camp on short leashes we had a few more reports of sightings of a massive skunk hanging out in camp. it was female and she had half a dozen babies traipsing around the area. there was a ranch a couple miles down the road but other than that our campground was the only human presence and likely main food source. and there were trash cans out in the open. the skunk family kept to the camp perimeter and tall grasses but regularly moved around during the day. lawnmower came out and every square inch of that camp was mowed down. we stopped using the trash cans and a few families volunteered to haul all the trash to the dump about 20 miles away every single day. all dog dishes went inside. after a couple more days we had their movements down and they seemed to favor the shed where my friend and i first spotted them. the female had set up a den under the shed.
the campers that were camped adjacent to that spot were asked to move to another area of camp. one afternoon a bunch of the guys in camp waited and watched. as soon as the skunk family left their den under the shed the guys went to work. everything that was stored in the shed was removed and the guys set to digging up the dirt around the perimeter. they set it up on logs and then enclosed the sides with wood planks, hoping the skunk family didn't notice the added headroom once they returned to their den.
later that night after dinner all kids and dogs were ordered to stay in the trailers and the guys set up their hunting stand. never seen so many guns at one time in my life...every camper was coming out with rifles and pistols in hand and in holsters. my dad and a couple other guys were voted to be the marksmen and they set up on a picnic table facing the shed about 50 yards away. spotters kept an eye out for the skunks to come back and as soon as they were back under the shed all hell broke loose. the plank blocking the front of the shed was gently lowered, spotlights and flashlights were all aimed at the shed, and my dad and the other guys opened fire. they somehow managed to shoot the whole lot without any of them spraying. i think they got the mom first and the babies were too bewildered to know what was happening. a couple of the guys had to retrieve the bodies out from under the shed with rakes, they were bagged up, put in a trash can and hauled to the dump that night.
campers rejoiced, kids and dogs were free to roam camp once again, and my friend and i had a great 'i told you so" moment since we were the first to spot the damn things.

 

didn't stick around long enough to find out

 

hope all goes well for her tomorrow
if i had known sooner i would have sent her a get well present...