Dancing Skunks

It was either the summer solstice or the Perseid meteor shower in August, as these are the most likely times I’d be camping in the Pawnee National Grasslands. I was sitting on top of a hill watching the sunset when a couple of skunks emerged from a burrow about 30 feet down the hillside. They came up the hill a little closer. I was on edge, ready to bolt in the opposite direction, but they were oblivious to me. Facing each other, they reared up on their hind legs and began gently pawing each other. They’d spin, fall down and get up again. It reminded me of a dance. It was a very affectionate scene as they were silhouetted with the sun falling below the horizon behind them. When the sun was nearly gone, they disappeared back into the ground and I never saw them again.