Issue #12 The Magic Heron Newsletter – What small animal is all about self-assuredness and is the ultimate pacifist?
Welcome to the 12th issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. Thanks for being here. I appreciate you.
Leaving North Carolina, July 18, 2021
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Hi there!
At the time of this newsletter, I’m on my way home to Texas. I’m not sure how this transition is going to feel. I hate when I have to leave my kid, whether it’s at the airport or driving back. I sure wish it didn’t hurt so bad each time. But I’m traveling back with my daughter and we haven’t seen each other in over a year. So, we have a lot of catching up to do.
The other transition that will be hard is leaving all of the new-to-me nature that I discovered in North Carolina. So different than the dusty plains of the Texas Panhandle. I grew up on the prairie and have always loved it. But I discovered I really loved the coastal plains even more. So many trees!
This week I’ve been seeing several baby skunk videos popping up and that is my cue to pay attention to new teachings. Read on below for skunk symbolism!
This week’s newsletter Spirit Animal
My Skunk Story
Many years ago, I learned about the animal symbolism of the skunk first hand. It was early, I had just woke up and my dog at the time, Peppy, wanted to go outside. I was groggy and not being aware of her subtle signs of hyper alertness and as soon as I opened the door, she shot out across the deck and bailed off the edge straight at a skunk that happened to be in the corner of the fence at the chicken shed. It immediately sprayed her.
Three times!
I ran down the steps and grabbed her, and not even thinking, whisked her back into the house and slammed shut the door.
And then I wanted to just retch. I realized my mistake and ran back outside with her to the other small shed where I could lock her in until I could figure out what to do with her.
Oh, and did I mention this was in February?
Our coldest month.
On Valentine’s Day.
Year 2001.
Husband (at the time, now my ex), was making his lunch at record speed and was out the door on the way to work, trying to get ahead of the smell that was rolling through our trailer house. He was out the door and gone.
My daughter came out of her room and sized up the situation and said, well, dad just abandoned me!
I had just opened all the windows, turned on the fans trying to move the smell out of the house as fast as I could. It was unbearably cold. And my little Schnauzer was out in the pen, dripping with skunk spray and freezing.
What to do?
I had always heard that people used tomato juice for skunk spray on dogs. So I grabbed a plastic tub and scoured the pantry, and found tomato sauce, tomato soup, but no tomato juice. So I figured heck, just make my own. I mixed the tomato sauce with some water and went out to Peppy.
I put her in the tub and poured the tomato sauce all over her and scrubbed it in. And OMG, it made the smell worse! I had to turn away from her and hold my breath. Her eyes were sore and burned from the spray. She had gotten it right in the face. I wanted to puke, the two smells together were horrible.
She was cold. I was cold. The house smelled anyway, so I took her back in and put her in the bathroom. Then I found my holistic animal care book and looked through it. And there it was. A recipe to remove skunk spray that they said worked better than anything else. And they said, don’t use tomato juice, it’s just a myth.
Too late.
(recipe is down below in the Nature Journaling section of this newsletter)
So, I made up the mixture and scrubbed it all over her little body and I could instantly tell it made a huge difference.
By the way, the husband didn’t escape the fumes either. At lunch, he opened the Ziploc baggie to pull out his sandwich and the bread had apparently soaked up skunk smell. He chunked that sandwich out the window instantly and threw away the lunch box.
Daughter said he deserved that for abandoning her.
In case you are wondering, it took several months for the smell to fade out of the house. Fun times.
Skunk Symbolism and Meanings:
Skunks have a special way to protect themselves, as I have just demonstrated. This is how it handles its predators, and most predators learn their lesson. (Apparently my dog was not that bright, as she was sprayed 3 times in a row).
Symbolic Meanings:
- Defense
- Prudence
- Protection
- Confidence
- Awareness
- Pacification
- Effectiveness
- Good judgement
- Introspection
- Innocence
- Assurance
- Patience
- Silence
- Peace
The skunk is actually the ultimate pacifist. They usually do give warning before they spray, by stamping their feet or sometimes doing a handstand. The one we experienced didn’t have time to give warning since Peppy shot out the door so fast and the skunk was right there at the fence.
Skunk walks through life with self-assurance and calmness. Skunk can teach us about quality judgement in situations where someone is pushing at your boundaries. You can ease out of the situation with deft and diplomacy.
There was another time I experienced skunk.
On our honeymoon.
No, I didn’t get sprayed. Thankfully!
But I did experience the skunk’s calm and self-assured demeanor.
We were camping at the edge of a lake and I was sitting on a log watching the water one early morning. And I noticed movement to my right. Down the trail waddled a skunk, just minding his own business, meandering along the trail. He came towards me, and stopped in front of me. Our eyes locked and held a steady gaze for a few seconds. It was very peaceful. And then he brushed past my legs and continued down the trail. I was in awe. I couldn’t believe this special moment I’d just had and turned to tell my husband about it.
He was at the tent a few feet away and about to blow a gasket, he was so upset that I’d just sat there. I said, “well, if I’d moved it would have startled him”, and I went back down to the log.
So remember, animals have much to teach us, if we just stop and listen. Skunk has shown up at other times in my life too, and at those times I understood that someone or something in my life “didn’t smell right”. I learned to be more aware of certain people and situations.
Oh, and after the Peppy incident, Skunk did come around at random places every Valentine’s Day after that for several years!
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Recently Published . . .
Here are a few recently published items that may be of interest to you . . .
1. Letter writing – Beach Bicycle printable stationery
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Get Your Gardening On With the 2021 Superfood Garden Summit . . .
1. Grow Your Own Vegetables–The 2021 Superfood Garden Summit is Open!!!
3. Holistic Cancer Care Course
Blog Posts . . .
Here are my latest blog posts:
1. Superfood Garden Summit—Free Virtual Event and eGuide
Interesting links . . .
Here are some interesting links I came across on my ventures through Internet Land this week that I thought you might enjoy:
1. From empty nest to first egg in less than 8 minutes! – BlueTit nest box live camera highlights 2021
2. Making Poor Man’s Stew ($1.00 Meal)
3. Survivorman | Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest | Season 1 | Episode 2 | Wild Ginger and Miners Lettuce
4. How To Encourage Bumblebees To Visit Your Garden
5. 9 Summer Herbs To Forage This Year
Different Ways to Journal . . .
1. HOW TO JOURNAL IN A JUNK JOURNAL! JOIN ME! 🙂 #1 Beginner Junk Journal Tutorial! The Paper Outpost!
Articles on Journaling . . .
So many good articles on journaling. Here are a few you might like.
1. On Journaling to Keep Writing
2. Journaling to Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom
Random Nature Fact . . .
A giraffe has the same number of bones in its neck as a man.
Nature Journal videos . . .
1. INJW “It Reminds Me of…” with Jack
This video was part of International Nature Journaling Week with John (Jack) Muir Laws and was so much fun. He shows how to nature journal using 3 questions: I Notice, I Wonder, and It Reminds Me Of… and in this video he shows some really great examples of how to answer those questions when you are nature journaling.
Nature Journal Prompt . . .
This week’s nature journal prompt is the Skunk. Here are some fun facts!
Skunk facts:
Family: Mephitidae
Lifespan: 7 years although most live only up to 1 year
Scientific name: Mephitis mephitis
Weight: 1.1 lb (spotted skunks) to 18 lb (hog-nosed skunks)
Length: 15.6 to 37 in
Toes: 5 in front, 5 in back
Color: black and white is most common. There are some skunks that are brown, grey or cream-colored. All have stripes—either a single thick stripe or thinner stripes, and some have broken stripes and spots (spotted skunk).
Habitat: forest edges, woodlands, grasslands, deserts in abandoned burrows, under large rocks and hollow logs. They will also live in abandoned buildings.
What it eats: omnivores—insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, eggs, berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi, and nuts. Will also scavenge from garbage, eat cat food left outdoors and dig holes in lawns for grubs and worms.
What eats it: coyotes, foxes, lynx, bobcats, mountain lions, badgers, large owls, eagles, large hawks, domestic dogs
Skunk Spray: Skunks have 2 anal glands that produce the spray which is a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals called thiols. They only have enough for 5-6 successive sprays and it takes up to 10 days to produce another supply.
Did you know?
Skunks are a primary predator of honeybees! Their thick fur protects them from the stings while they scratch out the front of the beehive and eat the guard bees.
Random cute video . . .
Wildthunder Wildlife & Animal Rehabilitation & Sanctuary Facebook video
Check out this fun video on The Science of Skunk Spray
And here’s the recipe . . .
Skunk Spray Removal Recipe for Dogs:
¼ cup baking soda
1-2 teaspoons mild dishwashing detergent like Ivory Snow
1 quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution
Mix in a bucket and use immediately. Work the mixture well into the dog’s fur. Leave on for 5 minutes. Rinse with warm water and if desired, follow up with dog shampoo.
What I’m watching . . .
1. Absolutely LOVED Judi Dench in her documentary on the trees on her acreage.
Judi Dench My Passion for Trees FULL BBC One 2017
2. The Terminal (2004) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers
What I’m reading . . .
1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I read this book last summer and fell in love with the imagery. I am rereading parts of it now because the author describes the area I’m in with such vivid descriptions, it pulls you right into the landscape. And I love the main character, I really resonate with her.
2. The Secret World of Weather—How to read signs in every cloud, breeze, hill, street, plant, animal and dewdrop by Tristan Gooley
Quote I’m pondering . . .
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.”
– Anaïs Nin
Questions I’m considering journaling on . . .
Do I need to set some boundaries somewhere in my life? Or does something “not smell right” and I’m not paying attention?
Journal Prompt . . .
Journal about the week that just ended:
- Who made you feel good this week?
- What was the biggest mistake you made this week?
- What did you do this week that moved you closer to reaching your goals?
- Is there anything you did this week that you wish you’d done differently?
- What did you most enjoy doing this week?
- How did you procrastinate on important tasks this week?
- What did you learn this week?
- What’s the funniest thing that happened to you this week?
Happy Journaling!
. . . Shanna
P.S. Is there something you like or would rather see in the newsletter? Hit reply and let me know!
I’ll be back on August 1st.
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Links
Shanna Lea Author website
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. . . Shanna Lea Author
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