Today the city comes by to pick up the paper and cardboard recycling in our area. They can come by early, so I usually take the stuff out the previous evening, which is what I did last night.

It as about 9 p.m. and dark. I was thinking of all the other things I had to do before bedtime. I wasn’t paying much attention to the pile of the recycling boxes. I did notice the tip of a tail, which is not unusual. Then I got a better look as the “cat”came out from behind a box, a couple of feet from me. It had a white stripe down its back. Not cat, definitely skunk. And not looking happy.

Fortunately for me I have a little bit of knowledge of what to do when confronted by urban wildlife. I made no fast moves that would antagonize the critter, just backed away slowly and quietly.

But I didn’t get a picture. So how will you know if I really did see the creature or just imagined it?

The thing is, if I had taken a picture the flash would probably have startled it. And you know what would have happened to me then!