Sticky traps.
My friend J and I were eMailing each other the other day about those little sticky-traps that you can set out to catch mice and insects. I told her that maybe I could put rows of them all around the bed and that way the traps would catch the scorpions before they had a chance to climb the bedcovers. Sounded like a good idea, but of course I wouldn't do that. The scorpions can probably use their tails to pole-vault themselves over the traps, anyway.
So... there I was this morning, making breakfast in the kitchen, and I noticed that Mickey is sitting at the end of the kitchen going towards the breakfast room, and he's just sitting and staring at the louvered doors which cover the storage space where the heating and air-conditioning system is hidden. And that little cat is just staring, and staring... not moving a whisker. I know Mickey well enough to realize that he doesn't ever stare at anything without a reason.
I opened one of the louvered doors, and there, on one of the sticky traps that had been set out by the previous owners of this home, is a tiny little mouse. All four of his feet are caught on the sticky trap and he's trying to get free. Mickey's eyes got as big as dinner-plates when he saw that little mouse. I shut the door as fast as I could, and walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs, all the while calling my husband's name, over and over without a breath inbetween. When I got to the top of the stairs, there he is, saying Now what? "A mouse. Sticky trap. Air-conditioner closet."
Down the stairs.... my husband opens the louvered doors, and we see lots of sticky traps there, which we didn't realize had been put in there.... and he sees the little mouse still trying to get free of one. "What an inhumane invention," says my husband. He took the sticky trap out of there and went outside and into the garage to get something to pry the mouse's feet from the sticky trap. He used a screwdriver to dig into the sticky stuff, so as the mouse was loosened, there was still some glue stuck to the bottom of his feet. My husband let him go (not near the house) but he doesn't think he'll have much of a chance out there with glue-filled feet. I told my husband that if I see a tiny mouse outside with huge grass-covered toes, we'll know it's the same mouse.
"Another day on the ranch," says my husband. Indeed. And while we're on the subject, I've already seen my first snake... about three days ago. It didn't get me too crazy, because it was a small one, about 14 inches long, and not even as thick as my pinkie-finger. It was outside by the fountain, just laying there on the flagstones. I had gone out with Gracie just before dark and we both walked past it. When we were closer to the fountain than to the snake, I saw it slither (I hate that word) into the pine mulch underneath the palm trees. (It wasn't till the snake had gone that I realized either Gracie or myself could have stepped on that damn thing.)
Our neighbor J told us the black snakes are "chicken snakes" and they're not harmful. When those snakes are small, the chickens will probably kill them. (Yet another reason to get chickens.) Needless to say, I don't care whether a snake is harmful or not... I don't want to be anywhere near them. From that evening on, whenever I have to take Gracie out to let her into the grass, I just stand up on the porch and tell her to go down the stairs and "Hurry up," and she knows exactly what that means.
I have just about had it with the critters and wildlife here.... but we fully knew what we were in for when we moved to the country. "Another day on the ranch, " says my husband. Another day for a potential heart attack, say I. To keep my nerves in check, I continue to sew cute little puffs for quilted pillows. The sewing is very relaxing. To date, I have made 874 puffs. By the time I get used to the wildlife and critters here, every single family member and friend will have received a quilted pillow from me, and maybe even a full-sized quilt to match.
But on the bright side.... no scorpions yesterday. And since taking the floral-print sheets off the bed and vowing to use just plain ones from now on, I feel better as I peek under the covers because I know that I will be able to see anything under there now, whether it's moving or not. I slept like a baby last night..... not so much because of the plain sheets, but because I was totally exhausted from not sleeping the two previous nights.
Now that Mickey Kitty and ShadowBaby are roaming freely around the house, I know that if there is anything crawling or creeping about, or trying to get in through a tiny crack, one of them will notice, and even if they don't go near it (like the scorpions) at least they follow it and sit there and stare at it till they get my attention with their meows.
I should train the cats to use an air-horn when they see a scorpion. That would certainly get my attention.
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