Dead Skunk, Where?

Everyone's heard the song "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road." It's one of my husband's favorite. I think its because the lyrics are repetitive, so he sings it over and over and over. It could be, that its one of the few songs he knows. When he sings, it is comical. It's October now and everyone knows around here that just as soon as it starts to get dark earlier there are dead skunks in the middle of the road. No, we couldn't see it, but we could smell it a mile away. Some poor ??? got sprayed. It will take your breath away for sure. It did ours.

Its almost as bad as the odor that permeates the air from our local waste-treatment facility, which by the way is located, of all places, by a shopping center. It is a situation that has presented its foulness for almost as many years as I've been alive. My dad used say, "we're going by that smelly place again, roll up your windows, and hold your nose." Now I'm saying the same thing to my grandson.

I've learned many ways to mask the muskies that one gets when the windows are closed indoors. I use second generation dryer sheets at the bottom of my baskets before replacing the plastic liners. I use them in drawers, shoes, and vases. There's potpourri, scented candles and dish detergents like lavender. Even restaurants use scents to entice the pallet. Have you ever smelled apple pie cooking in the oven? Sometimes, they trick you into thinking that's what they are serving, and all the time is a scent.

At seven tonight it was dark enough to have our headlights on. We went to visit Matthew on his fourteenth birthday. I recall that the cheeks on my face were cold and we could see our breath. Having told you this, we are prepared for the impending frost tonight. Other than helping with those allergy sufferers, I do not relish coldness and dead plants. We brought in our pots and tried to cover all we could. Don't know how true this is, but it said that if you wet down the frost from the plant before the sun hits it in the morning, it will survive. Got to get up mighty early for that.

There will be no frost on this pumpkin, I'll be cuddled up, toasty warm. Sometimes, this time of the year I begin to put socks on my feet before going to bed. The mattress is always sooooooo cold at night, the bedroom is directly over the garage. In the Village era, the ladies used to warm there feather beds with irons heated in the fireplace. Now that's not a bad idea if you have a feather bed, or a fireplace. My mom used to use an electric blanket to heat our beds. Then, she'd turn it off. Once we were in bed, she kept the heat down to save money. The system worked well.

Today was busy just cleaning up from the weekend. Boxes are now stored away for our next annual event. Washing dishes, and making homemade soup is how I spent the remainder of my day. I now have more junk than I started off with, even though every year, I promise myself that I don't need or want anything else to clutter this house. Maybe this would be a good time for a New Year's resolution...Oh bother, I don't keep those either.

Tomorrow I will get to see members of my family for dinner. My grandson will be tickled to see all the new duckies that grandma has. A new hen, and a house that lights up. All new junk. A secret I'll share is, give away and take in, then you've beautified your home while helping other's to do the same. Everyone can use something new, it gives you a lift, and who doesn't need that? People around here just love yard sales.

Life is good in New England, until you meet up with, a dead skunk in the middle of the road.