I am now considered fully vaccinated, having passed the two-week mark after receiving my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. (No major side effects experienced. Just a sore arm after each dose and a bit of extra tiredness the day after the second dose.)
So why, then, was I wearing a mask this morning inside my condo even though I live alone? Three words.
Skunk.
Vinegar.
Ammonia.
Skunk smell woke me up at 5:26 a.m. I had heard skunk noises under my unit a couple days ago, so my landlord had come out on Thursday to spray ammonia under my unit. But whether the ammonia mix wasn’t strong enough, or the high winds dissipated it too quickly, the skunks were back last night.
And woke me most unpleasantly this morning.
I opened all the windows and put out cups of vinegar to counteract the skunk stench. With the wind still gusting strongly, the scent cleared out mostly within an hour.
Later this morning, my landlord came out to spray ammonia again. This time he used a much stronger concentration. So strong that I put on my COVID cloth mask while inside. Once he’d finished, I escaped on a walk.
Where, even though masks are no longer mandatory outdoors, I wore my mask on the trail. This time, the culprit was pollen. And those high winds. I find a face mask helps cut down on how much pollen I inhale, meaning the post-walk sneezing and eye-itching is reduced.
So there you have it. Two reasons why I’ve been wearing my COVID mask in places I normally wouldn’t need to.
