Why Nature Always Gets the Last Word

This week I was reminded, again, that I don't have anything figured out.

Our dog Tulip had a run-in with a skunk Tuesday morning right outside our back door. Not a direct hit, but close enough. Andrea was standing nearby and caught some of the spray herself. We cleaned him up, gave him a full shave, opened the windows, and figured we'd handled it.

Here's a fun fact about skunks: their spray contains the same class of chemicals as tear gas. It's powerful enough to deter bears. 

But not Tulip.

Wednesday morning, he found that skunk again. Same skunk. This time it got him square in the face, and he must have been standing right next to our furnace intake. You know what happens when skunk spray gets into your HVAC system? Every room. Every vent. Our furnace, the thing we trusted to keep us warm, became a weapon of mass destruction.

The worst part? We've gotten used to it. Apparently there's a name for this - "nose blindness." Your brain gets so overloaded it just quits. Our noses have officially surrendered. Which means I have no idea if I smell normal or if I'm walking around like a biohazard. I'm genuinely terrified to go out in public.

Tulip, still undeterred, helping move the cows to fresh pasture this morning 

Here's the thing about farming: the universe has a way of keeping you humble. Just when you start feeling like you've got something figured out, you get corrected. Young farmers ask "why me?" Old farmers just laugh. I'm told that comes with time. This week, I mostly just wanted to sell the dog.

That humbling can feel like a bug. But I think it's a feature.

Industrial agriculture tries to control nature. Seal it in buildings. Breed the wildness out of everything. We chose to follow nature’s lead. And that means accepting, regularly, that we're not in charge.

The land teaches you. The animals teach you. The skunks teach you, too.

Tulip still has no remorse. And we'll be back out there tomorrow, pretending we know what we're doing.

Thanks for being on this ridiculous journey with us.

Your farmer (who honestly has no idea how he smells right now), 
Cody

P.S. If you've ever successfully removed skunk smell from your home, I need to know your secrets. All of them.