Joe is home sick today. On top of recovering from strep that I think all three kids caught, his nose started running yesterday, and then last night, he started coughing. So I didn't get much sleep.

A few weeks ago, we had trapped another possum on the porch, and when Chris went to release it 'back to the wild', he spotted a kitten that had been dumped on the side of the road. He brought ihim home, then the kids named him Max, so now we're stuck with him. He's been the typical kitten terror, running around and clawing his way all over the furniture, then calming down just long enough to sleep on your lap for the ten minutes it takes to convince you to forgive him for his antics.

We've been keeping him in our bathroom at night, but by morning, he is ready to tear through the house. And since I haven't been too fond of being woken up at 5 a.m. when Chris gets up for work, I banished him to the shop last night. When Chris left for work this morning, he heard some desperate meows and went to check on Max. Apparently, Max freaked out and wouldn't let Chris touch him, and when I went to see if I could retrieve him, could find no sign of the little nutcase. Although I made lots of loud noises, he refused to show himself or utter a meow to let me know he was okay. I don't think he could have gotten out, so I guess I'll just have to wait out his little tantrum.

And now I have put my foot down. No more kittens. As funny as I think that super bowl commercial was where the cowboys were herding cats, I don't want a farm full of cats.

Speaking of critters... Saturday, I walked out the front door of the trailer to see that elusive skunk poking its head out a pipe that sticks out from the foundation of the new house. (It is what we will run the sewer line through.) I called Finley and asked her to watch the pipe to make sure the skunk didn't run off while I tried to find something to catch it in. I managed to get Chris attention, and we decided to block the pipe with cinderblocks until we could borrow (again) the neighbor's live trap. I had to crawl under the house, praying that I wouldn't come face to face with the skunk in order to block the other side of the pipe. Trying not to get too close to the front of the pipe, I aimed my flashlight beam down the pipe and thought I saw a furry lump huddled inside. We borrowed the neighbor's trap, set it up on one end of the pipe, and waited.

The next morning, we hadn't caught a thing, so I crawled under the house again with a 2x4, hoping I could push the stubborn critter into the trap. I pulled the cinder block back, and peeked in, only to find... nothing. The skunk must have run out the back side of the house while we were blocking the front.

Two nights ago, I relocated the trap to another part of the crawl space. Yesterday morning, there was nothing in the trap, but today.... there is. We had covered the trap with a garbage bag so that if we caught the skunk, we hopefully wouldn't get sprayed by it. But now, I can't see if there really is a skunk in there, or if it just might be another possum. And I am afraid to look.