The Trap

Long Gone

By: Astrid Hiemer - Aug 18, 2006

 We have been living in Adams for five summers now, in a little house on a hill, with a grand view of MountGreylock. It was during the first fall, when we had mice setting up rows of banana chips in our newly purchased couch in the living room, to prepare for a long stay. We ousted them. Then we were just enjoying the wild life around us. – After all, we are City folks!

We used the Humane Trap two years ago, when we relocated a family of ground hogs, who were living under our lower deck and were eating us out of "Haus und Hof." For a while, we watched a ground hog slip in and out from under the deck. We planted in the morning and a few new plants had been eaten by the afternoon. Charles was "livid," but we took no action then, because the critter was so "cute." Well, when the three young ones appeared one morning in July, we decided that the squatters had to leave.

We did not have any neighbors last summer, but in late spring I announced that there was a young ground hog living with us again. I had noticed three worn places, namely exits, and closed two with pots. The front of the deck, however, is wide open and there, I have seen our current guest repeatedly slipping in and out or just warming himself in the sun, while I would watch him from the upper deck.

"He has to go," Charles announced; we did not want another family. As far as I could tell, he was a bachelor. So, we rolled eggs under the porch, even a whole carton with "aged eggs," but we were not sure that he had voluntarily departed. Finally, Charles set up the trap again last night.

When I stepped onto the porch this morning, I saw that the trap was sprung, but no movement in the trap. I walked down toward the trap and peered at a very frightened looking, very small skunk. What a pretty little guy! And the wrong prisoner! We decided to release him on Mt. Greylock Glen, which is just a three minute car ride from our house in Adams.

We both visited with him repeatedly during the morning, before Charles placed the trap, clad in large workers gloves, into the trunk of our car. We had determined by then that he could or would not spray us, even though he had lifted his tail a few times. We arrived at the Glen, Charles, again, was armed with gloves and me with a camera. He lifted the trap and animal vertically, so that he could open the trap door. Charles placed the trap on the ground and I was ready to shoot, as soon as the skunk would run. Yes, I hope, the shutter clicked fast enough to document the relocated skunk's escape