For many year a ground hog has lived in a burrow in our backyard. Season after season he waddles around and lived peacefully with the other wild life on the property; the raccoons and the deer with a few stray snakes. But recently a skunk appears to have taken over the ground hog's home. the last few nights Petunia (the name I've given the skunk) has been working hard dragging something into the burrow. This evening at dusk I got the picture that is up on the right. It's a bit blurry, but I wasn't about to ask her to pose for me for a closeup portrait.

The deer do not seem to be phased by the skunk or the other wild life. They graze quite close to the friary and seem to have accepted us and the raccoons as peaceable neighbors. We have a herd of deer on the property and there is another one across the street in My Airy Forest. What effect Petunia will have on the overall balance of nature on our property is yet to be seen. I have a feeling the human animals will feel her presence the most! 

(I apologize for the quality of the pictures. I took them at dusk when there was little light and they came out blurry. Sorry.)