It wasn’t so sweet yesterday morning, because something upset the skunk passing outside our office and it let go! I don’t know your experience with being skunked; they vary with how much spray gets you. Fortunately, we had an indirect hit, but close enough to drive the office staff to the greenhouse for an inventory check. Skunk smell is so powerful, it can tear eyes through walls. Our office was unusable because the acid air would make your eyes cry a river. Oh, did I mention, we didn’t have water?
Having started the morning in the greenhouse, I learned of the skunk problem only when I found I was expected to not only make it better somehow, but actually find out all the ‘where’s and why’s’ of how such an awful thing happened. Deciding it would be an easy trail to follow, my nose led the way.
Passing the shop, someone yelled out that the skunk had been to the henhouse, leaving only shells of yesterday’s eggs. And sure enough he had, but had not sprayed the henhouse. The odor way everywhere and was hard to pinpoint because my nose was cauterized to all but a burning acid smell. But, I knew the skunk had passed by and sure enough it was the last dog, whose kennel the skunk confidently walked by. And even though he is an old dog, and wise to the ways of the farm, he just couldn’t let that skunk go by that close unchallenged. He wore the proof in like an aura all around him.
So, life here has it’s challenges, I did make the office better – we ran some fans when the power came on, hosed the kennel, and doused the dog in the skunk smell remover, which really just makes them bearable. A swim in the river for the dog, and the skunk smell’s epicenter was neutralized and our office soon became it’s old cozy self and life went back to normal. The dog will bear a faint skunk odor when damp even two months from now, but will be bearable to humans, when dry, in a few days. Just another day in the country.