What is that smell?

February 7, 2025

Well shortly after I posted yesterday’s journal entry our night got a little wild.

First we got a tornado warning alert on our phones-not a watch- but a warning. Usually we get more of a heads up but we didn’t get much notice at all. Savannah found a local weather guy talking about the bad weather and how it was coming right in our direction. We live on top of a small mountain and no tornadoes have ever hit exactly where we live. They have done horrific damage about 45 minutes from us. There were also a couple of tornadoes that hit about 10-15 minutes from where we live in the 70s & 90s. I take comfort in knowing that tornadoes seem to follow a similar trajectory.

We took cover when it was necessary and we were fine. There was damage in those same areas where tornadoes had hit in previous years. But we were safe and didn’t have any damage on our property. Living in a tiny home like ours is not a safe place to be during a tornado and we’ve talked about building a tornado shelter. But here’s my dilemma... Yes, a tornado is possible and if it hit our house, we’d likely not survive. But what are my chances of our dying in a tornado? There are significantly lower than dying in a car crash and yet we get into a car (almost) every day. Would it be worth it to spend $10K+ on a tornado shelter that I may never use?

Also the last city we lived in had a nasty tornado run through it the year before we moved. The damage was shocking. And what I took away from seeing it in person is that you aren’t safe in a traditional built home either. If a tornado is coming for your house, you aren’t safe. I am not flippant about how awful tornadoes or nor do I take the risk lightly. I’ve done extensive research on tornado shelters and one of the biggest problems is- if you shelter isn’t comfortable, people will often not take cover there. Or if they do, they get tired of being stuck down there in such a small space and leave even if the threat isn’t over. We' would love to have a root cellar but you have to do a lot of extra work to make a root cellar tornado safe. So I don’t know. It’s hard to justify such a massive expensive for something that may never happen. I say that knowing full well that saving our lives is the most important thing of all. I also know that I can’t possibly protect myself from all potential danger. It’s a balance.

If you can believe it, after the threat of a tornado, the night continued to be eventful. As Savannah & I were watching Mo (a tv show on Netflix that we are loving) I started smelling something awful. The smell just kept getting more & more intense and then Savannah started smelling it too. Then she said, “oh no! Johnny Rose is outside” and we both immediately knew what had happened. My son had gotten sprayed by a skunk at 10 o’clock at night.

Right after he got sprayed but before he got soaked with pool water.

Savannah opened the front door and there he was rolling around in dirt and the smell almost knocked us down. I immediately went to search the internet for how to remedy this smelly situation. The first thing I read was that you couldn’t let the skunk spray dry or you’d never get rid of the smell. So we immediately tried to figure out how to get Johnny Rose wet. Normally I wash him in the kitchen sink but there was no way he was coming into the house. And Savannah was in the middle of swapping out our water pump on the shower so that wasn’t going to be an option either. Then I remembered our stock tank pool. I thought, “I’m gonna have to throw this poor dog into the pool.” But a kinder solution came to me. I found a bucket and filled it with pool water and dumped it on him. Bless his heart. In the meantime, Savannah was inside whipping up the concoction that the internet swears is the remedy- hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. Thank the Lord we had all of those ingredients.

The poor bugger had to be bathed in cold water but thank goodness it was like 50 degrees and not freezing. After a thourogh scrubbing we dried him off and he smelled considerably better. Our house was exceptionally odorous though so we slept with our windows cracked and all the fans blowing. By morning the house didn’t smell as bad and while JR smelled considerably better- he still doesn’t smell like roses. His head clearly got the brunt of the stinky spray. Tonight I washed his head again and he’s lucky because I bathed him in the sink with warm water this time. This improved his smelly head a little. I read the skunk smell can last up to 2 years so I’m excited about that. Thankfully he doesn’t stink up our tiny house. You only smell him if his head is next to you which is what is happening as I type this.

We had a talk as I bathed him the second time. I reminded him of all the horrible things that have happened to him as a result of chasing a skunk. I’m not sure the message took. He doesn’t have a lot going on in his noggin if you know what I mean. The elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top. Bless his heart he is by far the goofiest & quirkiest dog I’ve ever owned.

In light of the events of the previous evening, today was rather uneventful. We did a few small projects around the house and I did a little cleaning. Savannah is currently doing YouTube research for our video that will be up this Sunday. Tomorrow I hope to report that the rest of the evening is uneventful :)

Thanks for reading!

-Casey