Night Visitor

Last night around midnight we heard some strange noises coming from the kitchen. Mr. Burli, who had just come in from his workshop, went to investigate and came back with big eyes. Yes, we had a visitor come in for a snack - through the kitty flap.
Luckily my mom was brave and made some tapping sounds and the skunk exited. We were all relieved. Mr. Burli locked the kitty door and washed the kitty bowls out, then I looked in the cupboards to make sure that our visitor hadn't brought any friends along.

However, around 3:30 I woke up to the sound of 'crunch, crunch, 'crunch' and then a scratch, scratch. I looked and then quietly called out, 'Help!' The skunk was back and trying to get out the cat door - which had been set to allow cats in but not out - oops. So then began the great skunk chase of 2009. (Hopefully there will be no sequel.) Mr. Burli was sent to go around and open the back door, and as he tried to open it (the key wasn't cooperating), the skunk headed to the front door, but instead of going out, he went into the living room. By then JT was awake and nervous and the baby was crying in his cradle. I was nearly crying, too, because I was convinced it was going to spray in our house. Somehow we eventually convinced him (or her) to leave - I blocked the hallway with a tablecloth and as it approached made tapping noises, and mom strategically turned lights on and off. Eventually I watched from a chair in the breakfast nook where I was standing as the skunk went out in the backyard and Mr.Burli confirmed that it went (somewhere?) behind the garage. Then I double checked the cat door lock - AND taped a piece of construction paper over the hole AND blocked it with a stool. AND I looked behind the washing machine with a mirror (where skunk feces were found but luckily no skunk), in the cupboards, etc. And mom watched skunk videos on youtube.

This morning JT had only a slight recollection of the incident, after all, 'my body was fast asleep but my eyes were fast awake.'