|
The Kwik-Sette.
This
is a little more involved but much simpler than the serious efforts
made by groups of terrier men who build elaborate facilities for training
and testing their dogs.
This one involves digging, (you'll need to
bring a shovel.) While helpers will be good to have, a single
able-bodied man can get one of these made in an afternoon. The finished
product will be a lot more like an earthen sette but is still very easy
to get into if needed. As with the Kwik-Lair, if you need to open it up
(for whatever reason) it's pretty easy to bring it back into complete
functionality before leaving.
That one feature is what
makes it worth doing. These are far more likely to have inhabitants than
the Kwik-Lair and might even become a real sette if left undisturbed for
long periods.
A word of caution about making a Kwik Sette; Skunks like snug tunnels so make yours kind of "roomy" with the entryways and tunnels a full shovel-blade in size to reduce the likelihood of a skunk taking up residence within.
The skunk seems to prefer dead-end tunnels, (I don't know why,) so be sure to have at least 2 tunnels, 3 is better.
These settes can be enlarged with subsequent visits until they look like this one, (below.)
Once the boards are in place, the
excavated earth is put on top of the boards and then forest debris piled on
just like is done with the Kwik-Lair.
A
feature that is good to keep in mind during construction: as the boards
are laid in place it is important to set them so the one that is
"uphill" has its edge over top of the board that is "downhill" of it.
This is so any water that penetrates the dirt will tend to continue
downhill instead of leaking into the sette, (hopefully.)
Think of it as being just like the shingles on the roof of a house.
The piled up leaves and other forest debris will turn most of the water aside.
Check back regularly.
There
is a lot to know about on these subjects and we'll be adding photos
& information as time, opportunity and circumstances allow.
|