I return to work this morning after a quiet, uneventful fall break. We’re having an emergency drill today, so the inner peace will not fade throughout the work week but instead will be pumped out as adrenaline and action and what ifs replace the echoes of birdsong and back porch swing chains. My brother and his girlfriend came to visit, we arranged some furniture to make room for a few new pieces from my dad’s house, and we sat outdoors by the fire pit, roasting marshmallows and talking into the night.
As I was taking the dogs out for their final evening walk one night, I did what I always do – – I shone the flashlight all along the edge of the woods to see if there were any eyes shining back at me. Out here, we have everything from coyotes to field mice, and I’ve learned that I can never be too careful.
Sure enough, there was a tiny pair of eyes looking at me, about fox height. It had a black, bushy tail with a triangular-shaped face. We had a stare-down for a full minute at least before the animal disappeared around the tree, its tail curving along the trunk as it slunk off into the forest.
I walked the dogs, thinking it was gone, and mentioned it to my brother when I came back inside.
“Really?” he asked. “Let’s go check it out.”
I grabbed the light and off we went, back to the tree, where the two eyes sat just a foot behind it, shining back at us. The brush was thick, so we stared at it for a few minutes trying to figure out what it was before it hopped off through the dense thicket and went on its way.
I Googled and concluded that it may have been an oddly-shaped fox squirrel. We’ve had a black squirrel for a long time on this farm, and perhaps this was the great great grandson or something.
The shape of that head, though, perplexed me. I kept returning to the idea that it wasn’t a squirrel when it hit me: it might have been a skunk.
Just like my brother and me to chase a stripeless skunk into the woods, but I think that’s what happened.
If I’d had any doubt, my husband took the dogs out early yesterday and returned to bed, noting, “There’s a slight skunk smell out there.” I hadn’t told him that I had toyed with the idea that this had been a skunk.
Now I’m sure of it.
Skunks, dogs, birds, fireside pits, porch swings, and Hallmark movies all week- – and today I leave you with photos of peace taken last week. Happy Monday!
Leaves are turning, becoming more colorful by the day in my county.A pair of finches on the roofA pair of cardinals in the treeA tufted titmouse scratching an itchtufted titmousepine warblerpine warblerA tufted titmouse takes flightI’m photographing this tree as it loses its leaves, every few days, so I can see the change shot by shot
My Epsom Salt variety review continues and includes several more of Dr. Teal’s Soaking Solutions in today’s blog post.
One of my librarian friends recently purchased a gorgeous wooden bath tray that stretches from one side of the tub to the other. She can rest her book or her Kindle on the shelf and even set her glass of wine on it as she stretches out to read and soak.
I’d been considering making a similar purchase as a way to inspire myself to relax in the tub with epsom salts more often, but when I showed up for toddler time at the library, my friend suggested that I might have to lead the dancing to Tootie Ta that day. Turns out, she’d dropped her heavy wooden bathtub tray on the top of her foot and was concerned she’d broken some bones and couldn’t dance.
I’d broken my own ankle last September, and it suddenly flared up at the thought of dancing. I couldn’t lead Tootie Ta, either ( I missed out, big time). I also concluded I didn’t need the risks of a wooden bath tray. I manage to find my own injuries without help.
I continue to look for ways to relax in a bath, since I’m more of a shower gal, so I’m using epsom salts as a measure of good self-care and experimenting with the variety I like best as I re-condition myself to pause and enjoy more moments and give my muscles the TLC they deserve.
In yesterday’s post, I compared Black Elderberry and Calm Your Mind, and I liked Calm Your Mind best for its citrusy-berry fragrance that left me and the bathroom smelling great! Today, I’m adding more varieties to the mix.
Melatonin Sleep Soak – a relaxing fragrance, and the benefits of this kind of aromatherapy are for real. I did feel far more relaxed as I soaked and smelled the calming bouquet of this mixture. I felt the tide turning a bit on my bathtub outlook when I stepped out of the soak, dried off, put on a soft, clean nightgown and headed bedward to drift off into a peaceful night’s sleep – maybe I could grow to enjoy a bath from time to time, I thought, diehard shower girl that I am.
Relax & Relief with Spearmint and Eucalyptus – in addition to the relaxing component, its fragrance wasn’t overwhelming but was fresh and clean and stayed with me through lunchtime the next day. I kept catching wafts of the scent and thinking that somehow, the soaks stayed with me longer than my soap from the typical morning shower.
Calm & Serenity – this one has rose essential oil and is made with milk protein to help soften and nourish skin. The rose scent is not overpowering but is pleasant and more subtle than some of the other fragrances of the bath salts. For bedtime, this fragrance welcomes relaxation and peaceful sleep. As a child, I used to have a white cotton nightgown with little pink roses embroidered on it, and this reminded me of that nightgown that was my very favorite in the summertime heat.
Glow and Radiance – one of my favorite fragrances in the entire world is fresh orange. It reminds me of winter and summer sunshine all at once. This variety has Vitamin C and Citrus Essential oils and is designed to uplift the mood. As much as I love this bath salt variety, I would recommend this to morning bathtime soakers, which won’t be an option for me until retirement at the earliest. It does tend to awaken, and not to relax.
Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil with Essential Oil Blend – this one is made from Hemp Seed Oil for intense moisture and white thyme and bergamot “to quiet the mind.” Let me tell you – – the aromatherapy benefit from this blend of scents alone was over the moon stress relieving. It’s completely legal, and while it may carry a Kerouacian connotation, I can assure you that I endorse it only for soaking – – not for smoking! It doesn’t contain any ingredients that would compromise the body or mind or call one’s character into question. What it does do is loosen the worries and stresses; it washes them down the drain, leaving only pleasant scents and a relaxed mind, ready to sleep.
Clarify & Smooth with Witch Hazel, Aloe Vera, & Essential Oils – this one contains aloe vera and Vitamin E to nourish skin. It has a fresh, light scent – – much lighter than many of the other varieties. Since smell is the sense most closely associated with memory, I understand why I like the scent so much. If you’ve ever been five or six years old and opened a new doll with shoes and clothes sewn onto the card in the container and smelled the new plastic, really just inhaled it and inhaled it to smell all the new freshness and excitement of a new toy in the back seat all the way home from the store, this may take you back to that time once you have stepped out of the tub and dried off. That’s the scent that lingers. It brings back great memories of the plastic that wrapped the toys of my childhood.
Today’s favorite in these reviews is the Cannabis Sativa Hemp Seed Oil variety. Maybe it’s because I feel a twinge of preacher’s kid rulebreaking reputation when I soak in it, but it truly did relax me in a way that none of the others did.
Tune in tomorrow for my final 2 reviews and overall favorite epsom salt aromatherapy variety of all the ones I have reviewed, and please share your own epsom salt preferences as well. I’m learning new things about the benefits of epsom salts and welcome all the knowledge and expertise that you care to share!
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Common Threads 