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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1959)
16 MAIL TRIBUNE, MeaW, Or. Sunday, Dec 20, 19S9 LAST MINUTE GIFT SUGGESTIONS... Small Worlds Around Us By Lynn . M. Watkins Meet 111 Skunk Family Ana St How They Farad . The headlights picked up a moving shape in the road head. I slowed, flicked on the high beams. There in the brilliant light was the entire .'Flower" family, out for walk. I parked off. the highway and approached them on foot The harvest . moon was so bright that mama skunk and her five children were plainly visible. She was now looking Into the brighter lights of the car. Deciding the car was quiet, he steeped daintily off the highway, her family follow ing in single file. Immediately I named them. She was Flow er: the children were Petunia Rose, Violet, Lily and Carna-tion-an entire garden of frag rance. A I watched, she stopped and started to dig in a rotted log. The children gathered around, ready to pounce on any beetle, worm or bug that was uncovered. Flower dug tit a larce beetle: the chu dren fell over one another in the excitement. Barkina Doa Suddenly she stopped dig- Bin, raised her tail like nlume. and listened. The youngsters froze in their play; they had all heard something, Faintly and far away 1 heard the barking of a dog Flower did not wait; she de cided on a course of action. The best I could do was watch the little procession disap pear, then hurry to the spot where I had last seen them, and look again. That way I followed their flight. Mama skunk knew where she was going. An old house stood in the pine woods. The windows were gone, the door missing, mnH the roof was broken and sagged. It looked eerie in the nvtonlieht. Through a hole in the crumbling wall went the ntira Flower family. AP- nroachlnff the old house, I wept the sand clean in rront of all the openings. The following day I return ed. There was not a single track to indicate the family had departed. With a flash light I probed the cobwebby darkness under the sagging floor. Changing my position several times, I located the family squatting in a far cor ner, wondering what the bright light was all about. Satisfied they would come out soon, I blocked all the holes except one. There I set up a camera equipped with an automatic shutter. I placed a string over which mama skunk would trip when she came out. Hadn't Come Out But the next day when I ar ' rived, the camera still stupid ly waited; it had not been tripped. The Flower family had not left, they were all still under the house. I could see mama skunk softly nudg ing each little one in turn. To her each was very dear; each one sme lied good. Papa skunk had long since departed. For him the "wedding bells' had not "broken up that old gang of his. As I watched her under the flashlight's beam, she seemed to know that her aloof man ner and haughty bearing im pressed all she met, and they always gave way to her like commoners when the queen appears. Even the children sensed their own importance, for they all marched around with their tails and heads held high, like banners flying. They remained under the old house for many days. It had become home to them and later I found out why-they had there a plentiful supply of food. Mama skunk was teaching her children how to dig out and eat the millions of termites that were reduc ing the old house to rubble. The Flower family had smell ed out a bonanza. (Released by The Register and Tribune Syndicate, 1959) Tips for Safe Tree Lights Given Salem - Chief Electrical In spector W. R. Volheye of the state bureau of labor has rec ommended five basic rules to follow to help eliminate Christmas tree and other elec trical accidents this season. He noted that each Christ mas there are numerous acci dents from careless use of the 100 million electrict Christ mas tree bulbs sold in Amer ica each year. x Among his recommenda tions are: l. Buy only lighting sets with a laboratory approved label. This is the assurance that certain safety standards have been met in manufac turing. 2. Check the insulation on old sets before using. He said even the best materials do not last indefinitely. 3. Do not renew bulbs with those that have too long bases exposing metal parts to con tact with tree or ornaments. 4. Do not leave children .at home unattended, with a lighted Christmas tree. - 5. Never use indoor lighting sets outside in the weather. He said. the use of such sets around moisture is flirting with death. Inspectors also advise that electrical toys require more care than other toys for safety's sake, and warned against using electric train tracks near cotton of inflam mable type. 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