I’m the Reason Why Torrington to Brookfield Was Skunky This Morning
Did you smell skunk on your way along Rt.202 this morning between Torrington and Brookfield? I'm sorry, that was me.
I ran over a skunk two minutes into my commute today. The poor little guy was trying to cross S. Main St. in Torrington. What an awful feeling, I was only doing maybe 30mph? I saw a black and white flash in my headlights, and I instinctively nailed the brakes and swerved as best I could, but it ran right into my path. I felt that sickening thud, and I immediately pulled over. For a brief moment, I thought I had hit a cat, and then the smell hit me.
Then the smell hit me again, and again. It kept ramping up as I got closer to Litchfield. Right now my Subaru smells like I'm smuggling 50 pounds of the good stuff.
What the heck was a skunk doing out at 4:30 AM? Looking for a mate, and that makes me feel even worse. According to ct.gov, the Eastern Striped Skunk is common all over Connecticut, except for the mountainous regions in Northwest, and right now, February to March, is their mating season. Poor little guy, you shouldn't have been looking for love in Torrington at 4:30 AM.
The one thing that kind of makes me feel a tiny bit better is that skunks are considered as one of the more common sources of wildlife problems experienced by us Connecticut residents. Skunks are known to shred gardens and lawns while they search for tasty grubs. Skunks are also great at destroying turtle egg nests, according to ct.gov, and they're experts at rooting through your garbage cans.
Anyway, sorry if you thought that you were driving behind Willy, Snoop, and Martha on 202 this morning.