Something Stinks

We've been in this house about nine years now. When we bought it, the developer had obtained a large area for further construction, but our street was on the very edge of the group of finished homes. The developer didn't seem to be in any great hurry to fill in all that empty space and it seemed like it wasn't long before the housing market nose dived. So for the better part of five or six years, our street was on the very edge of a large vacant area - just paved streets and lots for later expansion. It was a great area to walk dogs and get away from the house for a bit. Slowly, over the last few years, houses have been built in this large area, gradually filling it in. Alas, it seems that somewhere in that time that it stood empty, a clan of skunks decided to homestead and when those pesky humans came along and started moving the dirt around with big machines, pouring concrete and slapping up pieces of wood, they got just a wee bit...upset. About three times a week, the pungent aroma of skunk is wafting through the neighborhood and there is nothing subtle about it. I walked outside the other night to throw something in the garbage and the smell hit me like a brick wall. I hope the construction crews and the skunks can come to an agreement quite soon, cuz my nose just cannot take many more nights of the skunkpocalyspe.