Moonbeam the skunk

Painted rock, "Moonbeam", by Betty Burkeen

Meet Moonbeam the skunk. I'm sure that my sister's early associations with my name are with the beautiful little creatures, the striped skunks. She is seven years younger and was a toddler when I began catching them and bringing them to the house. I took them to a veterinarian in Cortez. He in turn de-scented them and sold them as pets.

At first I spotted them trying to escape the mower blade in the alfalfa. I would stop the tractor, bend the alfalfa down over the skunk's tail, reach through the hay, take hold of the tail and lift the animal clear of the hay. The trick was to keep the animal's nozzle pointed away in case it decided to cut loose. The vet had said if their hind legs were off the ground, they were powerless. It generally worked. I only remember getting sprayed once and that was my fault. I got hold of one that was a little too old and more experienced. The are perfectly capable of spraying with their legs off the ground.

He was only interested in young skunks within so many weeks of their weaning. They made good pets, but as nocturnal animals, they like to sleep all day and wander the house all night. I had one for a house pet for a short while, but my mother did not like the idea of an animal in the house and my father was adamantly opposed.

My sister painted this rock for me in 2005, not aware that I was writing a novel with a skunk named Moonbeam as a prominent character. My precious gift, Moonbeam, resides quietly, but alert, on the pedestal of my computer monitor, keeping me company everyday. Just as in my novel, The Ruin, the skunk Moonbeam keeps Cliff, the main character company through his sojourn.

Respectfully,

Ken Fenter