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This afternoon,  fosteronfilm is having to take Hobkin to his godmom's (for skunksitting) while I'm at work. Hobkin is not a fan of car rides, and normally skunk transport is a two-human enterprise. Matthew drives, and I hold Hobkin, murmuring reassurances and providing comforting ear skritches. This time, Hobkin will have to be locked away in a carrier.I'm envisioning a Tasmanian Devil mini-tornado a la Looney Tunes. I'm not sure who to feel sorrier for, husband or skunk! Writing Stuff The editor I was interviewing for my Writing for Young Readers column, Mark Justice of Story Station, got me his responses lightning-fast, in time to send the interview in before the deadline for my June column and therefore letting me bump the piece I was working on to July. Hurray! That's a great help in alleviating my May timetable crunch. Y'know, I thought after the legislative session I'd have so much free time I could put my feet up and chill. So not happening. As fosteronfilm admonished me (with a touch of exasperation), I need to stop deluding myself that I'll ever have free time again. Well, at least I'm not bored.
Club 100 for Writers: 6
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On May 17th, 2007 09:03 pm (UTC), (Anonymous) commented: Hobkin Hi Eugie, Hobkin is *adorable*. I used to work with wild skunks back when I was a biologist and they were so soft (holding one was like handling raw bread dough). The ones I've worked with and seen were jet black and white--is the brown and white fur typical of domestic skunks or is it just a Hobkin-thing? Also, do you find you have to trim his toenails--I did notice the nails tend to grow like weeds on skunks. -Sarah T. Re: Hobkin Hi Sarah, Hobkin's a wonderful cuddle-fuzz; he's very soft, like his wild brethren. He's brown and white because he's a domesticated skunk. The domesticated variety come in a much larger assortment of colors than ones typically seen in the wild. In addition to Hobkin's chocolate-brown there's white, apricot, smoke, mahogany, lavender, etc. (Some pictures of other non-black-and-white skunks at the skunk show we took him to can be found on his website, Musta-lay-day Grove.) Also, it's not legal to own a black and white skunk as a pet in Georgia. In this state, color is the indicator the animal control people use to determine whether a skunk is wild or domesticated. "Also, do you find you have to trim his toenails" Yes! And he hates it. I usually have to wait until he's asleep and then clip a few nails on one paw as fast as I (safely) can before he wakes up. I can typically get at least four toes trimmed before he cracks open his eyes, glares peevishly at me, and tucks the foot I was working on under his body so I can't get to it. It's an ongoing, epic struggle . . . Re: Hobkin Wow! Looking at those pics brought back memories! Have I mentioned how much like Artie Hobkin looks? Artie with chips! Artie's looking more slinky these days, he's got a good weight on him (especially since he has arthritis) but his coat isn't fluffy, it's long and sleek. It's funny how that changes. Sammy's all fluff-ball, now that his coat's grown back in. He went practically naked over the winter, for some reason. I was worried he was getting fat, but after finding the actual skunk underneath all that fur, he's about the same as Artie! Re: Hobkin I didn't know Artie had arthritis! Poor lil guy. It's amazing how much padding their fur gives them, isn't it? I thought Hobkin might be getting fat, too, but now that he's started blowing his coat for spring, I see that he's not nearly as plump as I thought. Sammy blew his coat off during winter? Silly boy! Did you explain to him how he's supposed to grow a new, thick coat when it gets cold? Not when it get warm again? |
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