I’ve previously written about the peace and serenity that is
offered in country living. Perhaps it’s
just the shock of moving from a well-developed neighborhood in the center of a
large city to the tranquility of being in the middle of nowhere, but we
continually find ourselves in awe of our new surroundings. Our daily walks are much less about how many
blocks to reach our destination and much more about scenery and stillness. We don’t find ourselves leery of “that one
house” and often find ourselves stopping to chat with the few neighbors we do
have.
 |
| Ahh...the freedom of country living |
One of the things both of the kids have really grown to love
is the wildlife in our area. We have
seen more creatures this past summer than in all our years combined in
Omaha. We have been serenaded by coyotes
and bullfrogs, marveled at caterpillars, turtles, and toads, spied on
hummingbirds and salamanders, and daily sightings of deer. We’ve even had the pleasure of observing
(from afar) a mother skunk with several babies…which leads me to my next point.
 |
| One of our many wildlife friends |
As enjoyable as country living is, it doesn’t come without
its own disadvantages…some of which really stink!
This afternoon as the kids and I were playing outside, I
noticed the dog had gotten out of the yard.
And while this is a disadvantage in the city because you have to wildly
chase your dog through your neighbors’ lawns and in front of moving vehicles
with fistfuls of hotdogs and processed lunch meat, sweetly calling after them
through clenched teeth (because what you really want to yell would have to be
censored on HBO)pretending you enjoy this game of hide and seek with your
canine friend all while your neighbors are watching from their windows and
wondering what kind of lunatic moved in three doors down (I may or may not be speaking from experience),
country living allows your dog a bit more freedom to roam.
 |
| The frog whisperer |
So, I let the dog have his freedom, the kids and I continued
soaking up the sun, and my sanity stayed intact.
I saw the dog leaping about and barking in the pasture
behind our house…then we smelled it,
that incredibly offensive odor that can be mistaken for none other than skunk. At
first it was just a slight smell that I was sure we could tough out. After all,
we are country people now. But as the
dog continued to bark and flail himself around, the smell grew increasingly
pungent. (For you city dwellers, let me just tell you that the few times you’ve
crossed the skunk smell in your car while passing through a rural area and you
complained…you have no idea!) I thought my eyes were going to shrivel up and
fall out of my head.
I gathered up the kids and made a beeline for the door,
called my husband and asked what on earth you are supposed to do with a dog that’s
been sprayed by a skunk and waited the next 45 minutes as the dog continued to
battle against a skunk in our backyard. That’s right. He stayed.
He continued to bark and terrorize while being sprayed. This just goes to prove my point that Moose
is not the brightest crayon in the box.
After bathing him several times with a box a baking soda, a
gallon of vinegar, a can of tomato soup, dog shampoo, and being verbally accosted, he has been banished
to the basement and the candles are burning.
My apologies to our neighbors who have been attacked all
afternoon by the powerful skunk smell upon walking outdoors. I’ll completely understand if you want us to
get rid of the dog…the skunks on the other hand are your problem!
