Critters

We've been hearing a strange noise about 10:00 every night, and various things have led us to believe it may be a skunk camping under some wood a bit away from the house. Not good, and not something you want to go check on without taking some precautions. Updates, as they say, as events warrant.

On the other hand, in nearby Baraboo it is a critter of a different nature:

BARABOO, Wis. -- A rare sighting in Baraboo on Monday put meaning behind the city's name. A black bear was sighted roaming around off of Highway 12 and South Boulevard, authorities said. The animal, estimated at about 200 to 250 pounds by those who saw it, was seen crossing the highway between Wal-Mart and Menards hardware store. It then entered the Blackhawk Manor Mobile Home park, where Baraboo police caught up with it.
“He just walked nonchalantly between trailers, eating cat food and walked up to somebody's water fountain and got a drink," said Tim Deppe, who owns a trucking company near the mobile home park.>Deppe said he followed the bear with police officers. He got within 10 feet of the animal and described its mood as calm for most of the trip. "Just like it was a pet bear, somebody's pet bear," Deppe said. "He was laying down in the grass when we found him, eating out of a bird feeder."
Eventually, as more people gathered, Deppe said the bear got nervous and scurried up a tree. Officers eventually ushered it back into the woods at the suggestion of the state Department of Natural Resources.Residents of the mobile home park received notices to keep the lids on their trash cans closed tightly and watch out for the bear, WISC-TV reported.Police closed part of Walnut Street in Baraboo for about 10 minutes at about 9 p.m. on Monday after the bear was sighted again, allowing them to once again lead it back into the woods.A spokesperson for Baraboo police said they'll keep a watch out, and if the bear becomes a nuisance, they will work with the DNR to take it farther away from the city.

This is funnier to some of us because there are some dudes known as the Baraboo Bears over there. There are probably some folks that are considered skunks, too, but I don't think they call themselves that.