I think it's a ferret

Sarah stayed with us this weekend. She was supposed to go home, but when she was here to watch the girls game last weekend, she found out we were able to get Oklahoma City Thunder tickets for $10, so she decided to stay with us again. The girls got to go down to the tunnel, and high five the players as they ran in. I sent Sarah and her camera to take pictures, but more on that later.

But, returning to the topic of this post tonight, she went home this evening around 6:30. It seemed like she had barely left the house when she called me. "Did you teleport home? That was quick!"

"Umm, no. There's something living under the drainage pipe in your driveway. I think it's a ferret, or a rat, or a gerbil. It was black and white."

"Are you sure it wasn't Oliver?"

"No. I'm still sitting in your driveway waiting for it to come out again. It was a ferret or something."

"We're on our way."

So, here's what we saw....

The drainage ditch....

Sarah explained that as she was backing out, the ferret/rat/gerbil stuck it's head out of the edge of the culvert, came out, sniffed her car, and ran back in.


Here's the culvert that has been backed over more than once, and is a tad smashed in...
Studmuffin ran to get a flashlight to get a gander at the ferret/rat/gerbil.

The ice and leaves and grass that have accumulated and not had the chance to melt made it difficult to see the cute little thing/ferret/rat/gerbil Sarah had spied. She was still waiting around to see it, when Studmuffin identified the mysterious creature as this:


Hmmm....I've never seen a ferret/rat/gerbil with these particular markings!

Oh, Gentle Reader, when he spied the skunk, we died laughing. Sarah said, "Well now that you mention it, the black was on either side of it's head with the white right down the middle...She had never actually seen a skunk in real life, and her mind is always on the bright side. I love that about her. She prefers to see the cute, cuddly and harmless side of life. Not the stinky, pesty side.

We both agreed that this was beyond any shadow of a doubt a bloggable moment. She went back to home to college, Studmuffin went in to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition with the girls, and I ran to get a camera.

I decided to just stick my camera over the edge and take a picture. I was scared to death he would come out the opposite side as I was fiddling around and spray my behind! However, I persevered.

Because, truly, there is nothing I won't do for a blog post. OK, well, there are some things, but clearly, I'm willing to risk embarrassment with crazy pictures and embarrassing stories. I might as well risk a stinky backside!