SAVE US FROM THE SKUNKS!
Happy Monday to you all! I hope you’ve had a magnificent day, wherever you’ve been and whatever you’ve done. I woke early to the scent of a freshly skunked cat in the laundry room and Farley digging like berserkers in my future tulip patch out front, busily trying to unearth the resident skunk beneath the front porch. I’m exasperated with this skunk stuff. I’m about to get territorial.
Instead of raging on the Mephitidae family, I’ll show you what I made today:
One lovely Fortress Ring featuring chrysoprase and faceted carnelian cabochons. Punchy colors set in towering heights for a lady who fears nothing and can walk smoothly in four inch heels.
A leafy design featuring Bartlett jasper which is a jasper from a local Idaho claim. DELICIOUS. I want to sink my teeth into it (ouch)! Own this baby and you support not only me, but a local lapidary artist who lives, quite literally, just down the street from me! Nifty!
When I say the stone in this ring is gorgeous, I’m deadly serious. This is a cut of Filagree Agate which is also from a local Idaho claim. This cabochon was cut by the same folks who own the Bartlett claim. Once again, you’re supporting two Idaho artists when you decide to make this piece yours.
I’ve never seen an agate quite so mossy and certainly NEVER in such incredible teal and white hues. This baby is highly translucent and the depth of the pattern in this specific cut is mind blowing. may she find a bright and lovely home with one of you!
Tall and long.
A modern looking knuckle ring built of serious lines and swooning swoops. A peacock pearl seals the deal and a smattering of sterling balls add dimension, inside and out.
Variscite!
Humdinger green set in sterling silver, waiting on your pretty fingers to wear her home!
Subtle details make this ring an easy dream for the wearing.
And that’s the group of five!
Back to the topic of skunks. The reason I’m so irate over the skunkification of Plume Gables is that these dratted things, a family of 5 actually, have been coming and going in our yard for over a year now. Additionally, whilst in Arizona recently, Farley caught a skunk while hunting quail with RW and proceeded to death shake the darn thing for a full five minutes while it emptied it’s scent glands all over his face, neck and back. Yes. It was far stinker than I could ever possibly convey to you.
We spent hours shampooing Farley at the lovely Sheraton Hotel of East Tucson but that little white dog still managed to contaminate our entire hotel room and truck so that by the time we left Arizona, we probably smelled just like the little family that is residing beneath the front porch.
I’m all skunked out.
It would seem that skunks are my cross to bear in this life.
Let’s put this in perspective, I’m sure I can look at this situation
in a glass-half-full manner…
AT LEAST FARLEY WASN’T EATEN BY A GREAT WHITE SHARK WHILE WE WERE IN ARIZONA.
AT LEAST MISTER PINKERTON WASN’T SPRAYED WITH
BOILING HOT OIL, BY A CRANKY NEIGHBOR, THIS MORNING.
MY FRONT PORCH MIGHT HAVE SKUNKS BUT AT LEAST IT DOESN’T HAVE TERMITES OR A BAND OF TOOTHLESS GYPSIES WHO WON’T LEAVE, EVEN WHEN I SAY PLEASE…
Whew.
See?
It’s not so bad.
Always look at the bright side, birds, always.
XO
PLUME
Skunks! Eeeeek!!!! Your new designs are heartbreakingly gorgeous. Love that first ring…welcome home…
I can't believe you have had to endure this twice in one month!!! Stinky little things. Oh well, it could have been much worse if Farley had gotten ahold of them – yikes. I hope the cat is doing better. On another note, the rings and things are beautiful beyond imagination!! Hugs, Sal
The new fortress ring calls to me.
I feel your pain.And we don't want you to be distracted from your calling, soooo here is how to get the STANK out of your dog:
In a big jug mix:4 cups hydrogen peroxide with 4 Tbsp baking soda and 1 tsp dish soap(dove and sunlight seem to work the best)(I really wish I haven't done this so many times that I have had had time to experiment-but I have)
Wearing rubber gloves lather him up really well and rinse. You might need to repeat one more time but even that is not usually neccesary. Ofcourse don't get it in their eyes,and well atleast it wasn't a porcupine?
I am trying to compare, skunks or screaming brat neighbor child, skunk or unruly neighbor child, skunk or neighbor…perhaps the skunks could be trapped. Perhaps I should send my screaming neighbor child and he could scare them out of their holes. : )
Lovely stones as always!
xx
…and at least IF your house is burglarized, which is highly UNLIKELY, the perp will be easy to identify! At least you don't have hordes of black snakes hibernating under your house and crawling up into egregiously awkward places within it, as a friend of mine does…though some people might prefer slither to stink.
(Hmmmm…I'd consider having a serious conversation with Farley. Considering that he's been skunked even before the Arizona trip, it sounds like he may have a thing for skunks. Could it be that HE invited them to Plume Gables for his own entertainment???)
LOVELY baubles!!!
I guess I need to find a skunk. It seems to spark the creativity, that I am in desperate need of finding. "Here skunky, skunky, hey skunky, skunky."
Tiffany
http://liferequiresmorechocolate.blogspot.com/
You may have thought I was not serious but I am…get a cheap loudspeaker and install near the skunk residence. Then blast out some obnoxious and very loud rock (not good stuff like metallica, the nasty stuff). You will get rid of all vermin for sure. At least that is my theory! Hope it is a skunk free day! We have them here too!!
xx
"(not good stuff like metallica, the nasty stuff)"
GUFFAW!
…oh how i love that carnelian cabochon…standing guard…& that leafy Bartlett is just ripe for the picking…
looks like it's going to be a stay~at~home~ waiting on Etsy kind of day…
no skunks here…only SNOWflakes…BIG ones…whee!
Aversive noise-making is a GREAT idea. Raise an aural stink!
They might find "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road" intolerable, but so might you. Seriously, I wonder what sounds they'd find repellent?
Holy mother of stone! – that Filagree Jasper Ring is a sleek and fearless stunner! wow-wow-wee-wa.
(love them all)
Oh, and on the Skunk Note – I would search the Totem! If an animal oddly/repetitively enters my path, I search it!
(it's my guilty pleasure, among horoscopes and charts!)
Love all of the rings, Jillian…beautiful, every one! And I kind of love skunks, I have to admit. As my rotten luck would have it, my fiance happened upon a little herd of baby skunks in one of our hay barns, but it was while I was gallavanting in New York last summer, so I didn't even get to see them! Boo hoo!
Haha the lack of gypsies in the front yard can always cheer one up!
LOVE the Bartlett jasper piece, you are so amazing, you are 🙂 And oh! Skunks! I can honestly say that I've never seen a skunk, never smelt a skunk. And Bambi may or may not have influenced my perception of skunks (because they're all cute and blush when they're in love, right?) 😛
Well!
For those who haven't had the pleasure of sniffing a skunk — they smell wild. And that's the only way to describe their musk. Really, you just need to smell one to understand.
I actually quite like catching a whiff of skunk while out and about for the reason that it's the wildest smell in the world! In my humble opinion.
You've all been very helpful with your skunk-riddance advice. I think I'll call Pocatello animal control and have a trap sent over. Just call me Trapper Sue.
XO
PS Thanks for the ring love!
Pretty baubles.
The skunk thing happened to us (or rather our dog) on Canada Day 2007. It took about 8 months before the smell had totally disappeared from his snout. Poor guy. It's an awful stench, isn't it?
It's awful when it's on a dog or cat…or me…or my orange peacoat.
If I'm driving down the highway and the scent wafts in the window, I usually inhale deeply because I honestly like the stench in small doses…
Hey! What have you got against toothless gypsies?
love,
– Future Toothless Gypsy
Nothing.
As long as they aren't living on my front porch:)
Sometimes…okay, often… you freakin crack me up with your vivid re-enactments (sp?) and sweet sarcasms! Hopefully tomorrow the skunks are gone and they take their pesky toothless gypsy owners with them 😉 I once had a dog skunked while camped out on the Pacific coast at the beginning of a two week drive across the country to Virginia… and the smell when she tried to crawl her way into the tent…feelin' your pain.
ha, oh yea, and then there was the time I left on a trip out of state after setting a live trap for a raccoon that kept trying to steal my dogs food containers, only to have my husband call, extemely un-entertained, to tell me I had successfully caught a live skunk… oops.
Plume, as aweful as your skunk situation is, I must say that I was so entertained by your description, that I named my fantasy baseball team SUFTS! It makes me giggle everytime I think about it. 🙂
Time to look at the animal symbolism of the skunk, I'd say 🙂
THANK YOU ALL for commiserating with me and I'm off to look up skunk symbology and then I've got to make a phone call about some green quartz:)
XO
About this: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=25522558
I have seen metalsmith designers loosely respect the very vague, sometimes unclear line of "territorial design" claimed by the crafter… I know each of you and your peers are capable of creating the same piece, and at times I have seen some of yours and their work look similar {too my eyes & others} and that doesn't worry me too much because I know inspiration is a very organic thing, and this medium has very little wiggle room for distinctly new-rare-as-red-wine "invention"… especially to a beginner silversmiths like moi who has mastered only the basics… {yet never is it an excuse to blatantly copy someone else's work} I posted a bit on understanding who is ones inspiration and how to give the respect that is needed and appropriate to our inspiration muse, after all, we all had to learn this medium from some one, and it's important to give homage to those who have assisted us along the way…
Just some Love and insight-LIGHT
Well yes.
About that.
I don't think The Line is ever vague or unclear. I think individuals know if and when they are crossing it and as a girl who works very hard under the hand of the muse, it sometimes makes me sad to see my soul flown elsewhere because someone doesn't believe their own is worth displaying.
Isn't that simply heartbreaking?
When someone recreates your
heart-wrought designs someday, I'd like to know how it makes you feel. Because of who you are, your confidence, your brilliant soul and the way you see the world, I'm sure you'll rise high and fast Michaela. If it should happen to you, I'll be there to support you in solidarity and love!
Until then, I'll probably continue to occasionally share how I'm made to feel by the creative trespassing of others. And like I did yesterday, I'll create a piece of jewelry to embody those emotions, I'll overcome my grief with metal and stone and then send the design and it's meaning out into the world in the hopes that the wearer will similarly overcome whatever situation is rising up to crush their spirit.
The description for the Filagree Ring isn't meant to be viewed as a rant. It's an unveiling of my emotions and a fierce reclaiming of my place in this world. It's a rising up from under the feet of others and taking to wing, once more. It's a description of victory and the transmission of an earnest hope that the girl who wears the Filagree Ring will rise up out of similar circumstance to claim her destiny, over and over again.
XO
HOLY COW!
My peeps, I just looked up skunkology. As a power animal it represents:
Self Respect, Reputation, Sensuality, Self-Esteem
Look: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-skunk.html
How INteresting…..
…I wish a family of cranes was living under the front porch.
Your reasoning, support, and heart are golden.
Always,
M