Spring Critters
Along with spring comes spring critters. What I wanna know is, with springtime outside, how come they wanna come inside? The other morning there was a bit of commotion downstairs, Becky went to investigate. I was asleep at the time, or I would’ve investigated, of course. I think I woke up as she was coming back upstairs to report a bird in the fireplace. Now, this used to be a routine occurrence in the old days, one that Stephen and I fixed by wrapping wire screening around the top of the chimney (yeah, up on the roof) so the critters couldn’t get in. Apparently, they’ve recently succeeded in building a nest and, in the process, wedging an opening through which determined aviaries are capable of gaining entry to their tomb below. Yes, aviaries, plural. On investigating the fluttering creature, I observed a couple others definitely not fluttering. Well, to make half a long story shorter, I captured the live bird and set him/her free outdoors; and scooped up the two dead ones which were given ignominious burials in the trash can, wrapped together in a plastic trash bag.
And then the invasion of the ants. Couple days later they’re swarming all over the kitchen counter and, I think, there ain’t much Becky hates worse than ants in her kitchen, except maybe mice in her walls. So, laid a bunch of ant killer around the outside of the house, and Becky’s been fighting a fierce battle inside that’s finally yielding results. :shootem:
So, how come the ant war is Becky’s responsibility, you ask? Hey, I take on the pterodactyls in the fireplace! :bond:
Kathie says:
Poor birdies.
Sounds like Edgar Allen Poe meets Alfred Hitchcock.
Maybe we’ll put in a pellet stove instead of fixing the fireplace….
John says:
Pellet stove? Anyhow, I personally don’t feel too bad about the birdies. These are ugly black things, with a little yellow mixed in. Not sure if they’re same as what we called “grackels” when I was a kid, but as I recall is was perfectly fine to shoot grackels as they were pests and not nice, like robins and bluebirds.
Becky pulled the stove out from the wall to give it a good cleaning as part of her ant wars strategy, and there was a big honkin’ hole in the wall where the mice chewed through from inside the wall where they lived and scampered. She (Becky) didn’t like seeing that hole at all. Me, I was kind of impressed by it. I mean, the intelligence behind its location was awe inspiring!
Kathie says:
Mice are cool. Doesn’t Beckey like Mickey and Minnie? And where would the world be without Mighty Mouse?
John says:
I don’t think she’d have issues with a mouse that could carry on an intelligent conversation, eat dinner with civilized utensils, keep burglars out of the house, and use a toilet.
jeff says:
My favorite is the James Bond emoticon.