Not Something You Want to Wake Up To In the Middle of the Night

The smell of fresh skunk outside.

Bleh.

It's times like these that I rethink the whole sleeping with my window open thing.

But, I like the fresh air...especially after all the heat of summer.

And, at least it wasn't RIGHT outside my window this time, cause my eyes didn't burn.

Sometimes, the little fellow wanders around right outside.

Oldest son ran into him one night in August while he was taking the trash out at midnight one weekend.

He left the skunk alone and the skunk left him alone and they both went about their merry ways, thank heavens.

No skunk in the air this morning. Only damp eucalyptus. That's MUCH nicer, believe me.

Up Close and Personal

Today, when I picked manga_queen up at college after I got off work, I was treated to the most spectacular sight.

A large, absolutely BEAUTIFUL hawk sat on a fire hydrant, close to where I picked her up, just watching people as they walked past.

He was sooooo handsome. He had a strong profile and was very well-groomed and well-fed.

manga_queen said there are many small varmints running around campus, so he probably comes there to feed.

I guess that would explain why he wasn't afraid of the students.

She said that before I arrived, he was down on the ground flopping in the dirt. Then he hopped up on the hydrant and started looking around.

Pretty bird.

I hope we see him again sometime.