The Smell of Death

Today, the temperature reached 98 degrees in the Twin Cities setting a record high for this date that had lasted 65 years (1948).  With the heat index, it felt closer to 110 degrees.  The low for the day was 79 degrees.  This is my way of saying today was HOT!  It was the kind of heat that takes your breath away, and it makes me so thankful that I can afford air conditioning.

But not everyone can afford it, nor do they have the means to stay cool.  Heat-related illnesses were reported throughout the state today, and I wouldn't be surprises if a few people actually died from it.

Animals are no strangers to heat-related deaths.  Including some sort of small animal that made its way into my attic but couldn't make its way back out.

Stacy and I got home to find the upstairs bathroom permeated with a stench that can only be brought about by rotting and heat.  It was stronger closer to the ceiling.  Something had clearly died in the attic, and the heat wave was cooking it in the rafters.

Our first thought was something crawled into our vent stack, so I climbed up on the roof, covered in black shingles, while the air temperature was still well above 90 degrees.  Much to my dismay, I didn't find anything but a clear pipe.  I went back inside, grabbed a glass of water, and I mentally prepared for the task ahead of me.

I was heading up into the attic.

When temps push 100 degrees outside, even a well-ventilated attic will get into the 120s and 130s.  Because we have blown fiberglass insulation in our attic, I needed to make sure I was covered head to toe before I went up there.  I put on some jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and some gloves.  I wriggled my way up a ladder in my closet through the access point and into the sauna of darkness.  Our roof pitch isn't tall enough for me to stand, so I crawled from the access point to the ceiling above the bathroom.  The insulation not only kept the searing heat from my house, it also kept any odors at bay... this is both good (in that I didn't throw up in my attic) and bad (in that I couldn't use my nose to locate the carcass).

After searching for maybe only 10 minutes, I had to get out of there.  I was a puddle of sweat, and I couldn't catch my breath.  I was unable to find whatever had died buried in the insulation.  The only thing I can do for the rest of tonight is bring some coal into the bathroom to act as an odor-eater.  

Pray for me that I'm able to find it without tearing into my ceiling.  Pray for the soul of this little creature that it act as a warning to its family and friends.  Pray for this heat wave to pass...