Re: Joy of this, Joy of that

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:

On Mon, 2 Dec 2024 21:40:48 +0100, D wrote:
>
>

A mink? But they are tiny! Was there anything left after you removed the
skin? I saw a mink once in the country side in sweden. He had a death
wish and tried to run out in front of my car, but I think he survived.

>
I had no intention of eating it but after I realized what I had hit I
wanted to tan the hide and give my girlfriend a mink. This was in the '60s
before fur became anathema. Mink are in the Mustelidae family which have a

This it not good. I thought about getting a fur collar for my coat only to provoke woke:ist! ;) I also have a nice MAGA hat that I imported from the US waiting for me in Sweden, which I will proudly wear when I go to the super market to see if it can generate some socialist tears. ;)

common characteristic of anal scent glands. I never skinned a skunk but I
assume it would be a similar experience. Before DNA analysis, skunks were
included in the family ultil they were moved to their own.
>
afaik, there are no skunks in Europe but you're not missing anything.
There are a pair of skunks that show up here sometimes looking for cat
food. Cats are smarter than dogs and ignore them and if I go out on the
deck the skunks politely waddle off.

I saw a skunk once when I was 7 or so (on a trip in the US) and I tried to pet it, but the skunk had other ideas and walked away. There was no spraying! ;)

>

I also saw a weasel in a huge park close to where I live. He was
confused,
because he had his winter clothing on, and it happened to be a day in
the winter without snow, so easy to spot him.

>
We have varying hares (snowshoe rabbits) that do the same.
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowshoe_hare
>
One fall I was coming out of the woods on a full moon night when I saw one
in its white phase sitting on a black rock outcropping. He might as well
have had a flashing neon sign. I'd seen some cruising owls so I wished him
the best of luck.
>
I don't know what triggers the change. I was coming down from a 10,000'
peak and there wasn't even any snow there yet.

The mysteries of nature. Amount of light or temperature perhaps? Individual differences to those factors?