I just walked in the door from my nightly walk and I must say, tonight was the most scared I’ve ever been during one of my laps.

Just a few minutes ago I was down in the part of the neighborhood that touches the forest. I had just rounded a dark corner when I heard a loud hiss in my headphones. I was reaching into my pocket to jiggle the headphone wires when I heard the hiss again and realized it wasn’t coming from the speakers but rather from directly in front of me. I pressed pause on my MP3 player and saw him at the same time. Beady eyes, a raised tail, and a smell that could penetrate even the thickest sinus infection. I was standing three feet away from one scared skunk.

I stopped dead in my tracks. The skunk hissed again and I knew he meant business. I slowly backed up and, while still walking backwards, crossed the street. He too backed away, up into the dark trees and disappeared. I quickly walked away, looking over my shoulders a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t being followed. I caught only a tiny whiff of skunk juice, and feel pretty lucky that I didn’t get a face full of it tonight.