Starling

 

After moving the other geraniums out onto the deck, I'd found one potted geranium I'd forgotten.  Picked up some alyssum on my errands today to fill out that pot.  While I worked on that at the potting bench, Whip was poking around outside.  I finished, gave the pot a splash of water, and set it inside w/ the Memorial Day flowers and  the herbs.  Tonight will be cold (though not freezing)  and maybe better not to shock the new plants more than necessary.  When I walked outside, Whip was just on the other side of Sleipnir eating something.  This wasn't good.  I called her over to me and she brought along a piece of something that had been long dead.  I told her to leave it and we walked back to the house.  It became obvious once in a more confined space that she must have also rolled in the dead whatever 'cause she stunk.  I gave her a sponge bath in the laundry room, dried her off, and we went back outside for our nightly constitutional.  She knows the drill for the constitutionals so kept to the business at hand and didn't venture back to the carcass.  Once we were back inside I was again made aware that, while the bath I gave her  had removed particles, the odor still remained.   Back into the laundry room where she got a good sudsy going over, a rinse, and a towel off.  The scent of decayed flesh may still exist but all I can smell now is the doggy soap I used.  Close enough.