Over the (H)edge - Conquest of the Verminators

I've been apprehensive about being at home the last day or two....knowing a mouse was probably watching my moves from hidden vantage points. Last night I knew from my dog (who has been sincerely forgiven), exactly where this rodent was hiding. This time it was behind the stove - the dog whined and sniffed beneath the oven. As I did the dishes, I heard the odd little shuffle behind there. I figured he was now probably amongst my baking pans in the bottom drawer of the stove. Ewwww. I supposed it was better than not having a clue where he was hiding. My husband didn't seem to want to tackle getting him out, choosing to rely on the mousetraps.

My daughter called me after 11 pm and I sat in the living room and chatted with her. My son, as is his custom at this hour, began to make supper all over again. He preheated the oven as I continued to chat with my daughter. Then he asked me what pan he should use. I explained he'd have to get one from the drawer below the stove, but to watch out for the mouse who would probably be feeling a little baked by now. I heard him slide open the drawer, then heard him loudly proclaim, "ITS A CHIPMUNK!!". I jumped up and by the time I reached the kitchen, the little critter had run through the kitchen and scampered under the couch in the living room. My daughter was laughing hysterically on the other end of the phone. I put the dog outside, informed my husband we had a chipmunk on the loose, and the Terminators (Verminators?) sprang into action. Hubby got the broom, baseball gloves, and some boxes; son got batting glove and camera phone. I ran around like a chicken, squealing every time this very frightened creature ran by me. My daughter continued to laugh. The game plan was to guide Chips out the front door. By this time he'd run back under the door of the closet (his personal dining room I had discovered... by all the sunflower seed shells I had cleaned out earlier in the evening). We made a wall of shoes and backpacks to prevent him from moving anywhere else, then shooed him out of the closet. So much for the barrier! Chips scaled the wall of shoes in a milli-second, missing me by an inch, and tore down the stairs to the family room. It was a little disconcerting how well he seemed to know his way around the house. I wondered if he'd already checked out the bedrooms, and perhaps explored the kitchen counters. It did explain why my African Violet had been knocked off the plant stand earlier that day! Well, the next half hour was interesting. I provided play-by-play entertainment to my daughter, while the other two tried everything in the book to catch a critter who can move at the speed of light. I had grabbed my camera and stood on the second step to the family room. I couldn't capture a photo as Chips would run from place to place in split-second intervals. Every time he ran by me, he would jump up to the first step and I would involuntarily scream. He would back away and be off to the races again. At last we agreed that since Chips wanted to go upstairs, we'd let him, and block off the kitchen at the top of the stairs. I laid an empty garbage can and a large water bottle in the path. In no time flat, Chips was up the stairs, whisked through my barrier and was back under the stove (as my daughter laughed)! Before long he was once again back in that closet and it was now after midnight. This time, we made the barrier higher and impenetrable with two of us behind it, and my husband scared the critter out of the closet. Finding no escape through the barrier, Chips quickly shot out the front door and off to freedom! I went out to say goodbye to him but he was nowhere to be seen. We were VERY relieved and I was so glad that 'no animals were harmed in this exercise'. I thought of my cousin's story of their experience with a chipmunk in their bedroom and remembering the critter had ended up on her husband's head and he threw it out of a two-storey window...I thought we got off pretty easy! Now the trick will be to find out where Chips got in and make sure he doesn't come back. I mean, maybe he liked it here. Plenty of dog food, water, birdseed, etc. Perhaps he watched TV and ate 'chips' while we were out. He could be telling his family and friends how cool it was, (of course he'll play up the story that he was the hero...) and maybe they are planning a vacation....over the hedge. I had been contemplating taming the other chipmunk, Chip, who lives in my front garden. I had tamed his mother, Chipper, last year and she ended up meeting her fate in a mousetrap in our attic! Maybe it's not such a good idea to be best buddies with wildlife. They just might want to move in permanently....and in that case, there would be no living with our dog!

Our dog's not so stupid after all!

This morning I came downstairs to see my husband standing at the front hall closet with a perplexed look on his face. He had just put food in the dog's bowl - we store the dog food and birdseed in that closet. I asked him what was wrong. He didn't say anything for a bit...just kept looking around. Then he finally spoke. "I think something just ran out of the closet." SOMETHING???? My heart stopped for a minute. Then he assured me that it might have just been a tumbleweed of dog hair that flew across the floor. He might have convinced me...except he set a mousetrap in the closet....to catch dog hair with a piece of cheese I guess. I caught a glimpse of the chipmunk outside, so I knew it wasn't him in our house! When I got out of the shower, the dog was whimpering and busily rooting around trying to sniff behind the love seat in the living room. All of sudden it made sense...the ending to the perfect mother's day (see May 14 blog) when the dog drove us all crazy in the night...she was not just being stupid after all! (It wasn't the only night she did that either). My son says he saw 'a mouse or rat' come down the stairs to the family room this afternoon. Sooooo somewhere in this room where I type, there huddles a rodent...perhaps watching our feet walk by....perhaps eyeing the nearby trap. Shudder. This all freaks me. They climb stairs. They eat your food. They chew electrical wires. And if there's one.....are there more? Oh, and speaking of more......I sat outside this evening to watch the mother rabbit feeding her 5 youngsters again. When finished, mom hopped across the lawn and the babies all jumped out to scamper behind her. Yowie! There were 7 of them!! No wonder the dog's been so whiny and hyper - scampering little rodents inside and out!

I know that experts suggest you get rid of birdseed around your property to help curb the mice problem. But I need the birdseed to feed the rabbits and squirrels because they eat less of your plants that way. Make sense? I just hope my daughter doesn't stop coming to visit us. I mean, she's gotten accustomed to living with centipedes that used to freak her out....and mice have far fewer legs!

Silly Wabbit!

What possesses a mother rabbit to build her den in a city backyard where a golden retriever lives? Like...why not the front yard where the dog doesn't go? We had a lot of yard and garden work to do this long weekend, and ended up creeping around so as not to disturb a momma rabbit and babies in our backyard. We first noticed the rabbit didn't seem to run away from us, then my husband spotted two tiny bunnies. Unfortunately, the dog spotted one too, and went snakey chasing the poor thing through all the groundcover in the gardens, and almost caught it. So all weekend we had to check out the yard and make sure the bunnies were not moving about before letting the dog out. The 'den' is right beside our deck stairs, so my husband and I had the unique privilege of standing just over a yard away watching momma feed her babies which are only 6-7 inches long. After their milk, she would go and chew up some grass for them and bring it back for them (yum!). If we got in her way, she would stop and look at us, we'd move out of the way, and she'd hop by us without fear. Saturday we thought there were two babies. Today I grabbed my camera when I saw mommy gathering grass in her mouth.

I sat on the deck stairs and caught sight of the babies...I counted sets of ears...one, two, three........four...oh my gosh.....five! So tiny and adorable! But where are they all going to live?? And how are we going to keep our dog away from them all? The babies were a little uncomfortable with me so nearby, and although they were all cuddled together, they began to scatter in every direction into the gardens as momma watched. I don't know how she keeps track of them or how she communicates with them - they seemed to be doing their own thing! My neighbour with the vegetable garden next door is really excited about our news. I swear every lawn in the neighbourhood has a rabbit and at this rate of multiplication, there will be nothing left of our gardens. Don't even suggest rabbit stew to me. They're way too cute. For now I will feel privileged to get such a close look at these little critters in my own backyard!

My hero still amazes me....

The hero whom I've never met is still amazing me. I wrote about Heather in my post dated April 30th. At that time she was about to undergo brain surgery and didn't know whether she would live or die, be paralyzed, or ever be able to speak or reason again. Well, she's back...not just getting around, but able to blog again with the same wonderful spirit she had before the tumour was removed from her brain. She has a long road ahead of her....but I'm so glad she is the same person inside as she was before the surgery - and able to express it as beautifully. You can read about her progress here and pray for her and her family. I have other heroes in my life as well whom I personally know...people who persevere through hardship, without complaint, knowing where their strength comes from, and finding peace and even joy in the midst of suffering. They don't consider themselves heroes....but they are. And they have no idea how much strength and encouragement they provide just in the way they live their lives. Do you know any heroes? Consider yourself blessed if you do.

Recovering from Mother's Day

I must say Mother's Days are getting better now that I'm older! Oh, I miss all the little homemade crafts and cards that were always a part of this day, and I'd give anything to go back and enjoy an hour or two of cuddling my babies. (My 18 year old son doesn't like cuddling anymore - I don't understand it!) But let's face it....mothers still end up doing stuff for their kids on mother's day and don't truly get a break from all of their duties. No offense to those who are still in the diaper stages or running your kids all over the planet....but I'm enjoying my kids being adults now! I think it's just because my body is running out of steam. I can actually truly enjoy a relaxing day on 'my' day. And that's what I did. The restaurant dinner was enjoyed Saturday night, and Sunday BBQ was cooked by my husband. I enjoyed my easy chair, my tea, my birds and chipmunk, my magazine, the beautiful weather, my family, my kids' friends who dropped by, an NHL playoff game. Twas nice indeed. Until bedtime. The first mistake was staying up until almost 2 am talking with my daughter. (That's what you do with adult children.) I crawled into bed, trying not to wake my husband.

The dog, who always sleeps on the bed with us (we can't change this habit of hers.....we've tried!!), stayed downstairs and just when I was nodding off, she began to bark. (This is a dog who only barks at other animals - if there were a thief lurking outside she would not bark!). I went downstairs and settled her down...rationalizing with her that there was nothing out there. Of course when I went back to bed, she started up again. She would not relent. Finally my husband in frustration, picked up the dog (no easy feat), put her on our bed and shut the door. He went back to sleep. The dog settled for maybe 10 minutes, then started whining and crying, and wanting off the bed. I settled her down. She started again. This went on for the next half hour. I was so exhausted and angry at her because this is so unlike her. Finally I took her downstairs and closed the curtains on the window- they normally remain open. She was finally quiet since she couldn't see anything out the windows. So I ask you. Do I not still have a baby in the house? In fairness to the dog, my husband has recently spotted a visiting skunk near our pond....can't blame the dog for barking at such a strange kitty. Thankfully, Mondays are my day off so I could sleep in a little today. I threw in a load of laundry before driving my daughter back to her home and found something in my son's shirt pocket that reminded me of mothering when he was little. Here's a picture of what I found.

If you're not sure what it is....it's a clam. Yes. A clam. He works at a seafood restaurant and had a very interesting smelling clam in his pocket. I am so grateful I found it before throwing it in the washing machine. Not too long ago I washed my son's wallet and all of its contents survived... but I don't know what kind of mess would have ensued from a clam!

All stages of mothering have moments when memories are made. Enjoy every one of them Moms!

"Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory: love them, especially when they least deserve to be loved."- Kate Samperi

"Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own."-Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Home Wrecker

We didn't mean to....but my husband and I kinda wrecked someone's home this evening. That someone is pictured here. Our little pond in the front garden had to be replaced, so my husband removed the waterfall and other rocks, piled them all around the perimeter of the garden, and discovered this little guy's home. His burrow entrance was directly beside the pond liner and beneath the rocks. Chip chirped angrily at hubby as he worked away, and then he disappeared. Chip is the offspring of Chipper, a chipmunk I tamed last summer to eat peanuts from my hand. More about her in a future blog.... Chip has it made in the shade in this garden. He has his own personal waterbowl, seen here.

He also cleans up the birdbath for me and guards the plants from invading rabbits.

We worked on getting the new pre-formed pond in place and some of the rocks moved, but we ran out of time, as nothing stops my husband from going to the gym every night. So there is still a mess of rocks and stuff everywhere that we hope to get back in place tomorrow. He left, and I moved the old pond liner around the corner to the end of the driveway. I suddenly jumped as a very loud 'chirp' rang out from behind the gas meter. Poor Chip! I had frightened him as he waited in there for us to vacate the garden. I can't believe such a loud noise is possible from such a tiny rodent!

I purposely went in the house to give Chip enough time to get back to the garden before dusk and get another entrance dug to his home. Alas, he did not return. Poor baby. Uprooted.... surrounded by the unfamiliar .... future unknown... deathly afraid....and alone.

Ever been there? Not behind the gas meter....but feeling frighteningly alone, even if there are others around? You've had the rug pulled out from under you. The comfortable and familiar have taken wings and flown, and you are left in a cold place you've not been before. You don't know where to go from here. You sit paralyzed...and you wait.

I wish I could make Chip understand that everything's okay. I have plans for that pond and garden that he can't see right now....but it will provide all that he needs and be even better than he's ever known. He can be brave, step around the obstacles that are there right now, and begin to build again. He can sleep in peace tonight because something better is just around the corner. I tell you....I learn more from chipmunks and my garden than you can imagine!

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." Psalm 4:8

(From the Bible - New Living Translation)