It was after 10:15 last night and everyone else was sound asleep. I was sitting at the kitchen table, working on the computer, when I spied the first one sneaking around the corner by the refrigerator and high tailing it into the mudroom. Moments later, a second little four-legged creature made its way around from the pantry and headed for the living room. It was like a "mouse convention" had stopped off at the Renfro House and decided that they would spend the night and enjoy our hospitality for awhile. Oh man, I gotta tell you that it got my attention, and fast!
Shoot I was ready to change from my pjs to street clothes and head to WalMart, then and there. I hate mice with a passion and the thought of them roaming at will, wining and dining on what ever they could locate while we all slept gave me a feeling of dread. Luckily, I was tired enough that I just fell fast asleep but when I awoke this morning at 4:30, the first thing I did was get dressed and head out to buy some traps.
I know I'm in Colorado, in the wilderness as such, most times like these. Those little tiny four-legged nuisances had me on high alert enough that I didn't even give consideration to the resident skunk that seems to like to hang out around the farm machinery in the yard. Last week Mike was walking Sally in the very early morning dark hours and they had an encounter of the "too close" kind with it. Sally was sprayed and immediately headed into the bathroom shower for a tomato juice bath. But even knowing that the skunk was probably out there, waiting for someone else to "greet", didn't dissuade me. I was on a mission to buy those stupid mousetraps. Just outside the driveway, only a few yards down Locust Road, a huge buck deer with beautiful racks that would make most hunters swoon, was making its way slowly across the road. Even that didn't phase me in that early morning hour. Exterminating those tiny little mice took precedence over fear of any animal that might be waiting for me in the darkness.
Once I got to WalMart and found a clerk, they directed me back to the chemical section of the grocery aisle. Good heavens, there's about a zillion ways to catch/trap mice these days. I wasn't interested in the humane way so I didn't even bother looking at anything but the old trusty "put some cheese on this thing and hope they snap this" kind of trap. I've never understood the logic for using those sticky trap things. What in the heck do you do with them once you find a struggling mouse in them? And I wanted to be sure that I could kill the dang things in the trap, not merely snare one by the tail and meet it halfway down the hallway on my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. $4.57 later, I came away with what I hope will do the trick.
Not sure why we even bothered baiting them with the cheese from an ancient cheese ball this morning. If any of them were standing around, lurking in the corners watching us they would have surely just died laughing. There probably is no more pathetic of a sight than watching two grownups in their mid-to late 50's trying to set mousetraps. Neither Mike or I were all that confident in our trap setting abilities and finally after many times of snapping the traps on our own fingers, we had enough of them to place strategically around the kitchen and pantry area. And so we wait and hope that some how or another, we can entice them to walk over, take the bait and SNAP!
This has been my summer to meet and see all kinds of creatures. Starting with the deer parade, then the two baby racoons, a resident hive of bees in one of the cottonwood trees at the end of the lane, a moose or two in the high country, hummingbirds galore, Canadian geese on the barley field, the lovely skunk visitor and now these guys....it's kind of been like living where Noah's Ark landed. The only thing I haven't seen yet are bear of any kind and I suppose it's only a matter of time before I see them too. Hopefully it won't be on my front door step. ( Just as an aside, this has been a bad year for bears. They are very overpopulated right now and are wreaking havoc amongst hikers and campers. People are reporting seeing them in pairs all over the place.)
The seasons have changed partners here and although the calendar will officially announce the arrival of autumn next week, for all intents and purposes it is here now. The arrival of the mice just proves that it's time to get started and prepare for the coming changes in weather that will soon be upon us here. So much to be done, by animals and humans alike, to be ready for the colder weather that will soon arrive. And in defense of the mice, I know they are only doing what comes naturally to them. You run out of food on the outside, well you have to find it somewhere else. Hey, just so you know, I'm not a "cold-blooded" killer. Normally I'm pretty mild-mannered about critters and such. It's just that I really don't like mice as my house guests.
For now the score is "0-0" but by the evening's end, I'm sure gonna be glad for a "2-0" verdict for the people. If they know what's good for them, they'll have their little suitcases packed and be heading down the road to the east before I make it home. And just for the record, after checking online for the best bait to trap a mouse....it's not necessarily always cheese, well that is unless the cheese is soft and chewy. The very best "standby" is always peanut butter, it would seem. What ever it takes, doesn't matter to me. To all of the Colorado mice out there reading this, I have just one word of advice....."beware!"
Have a great evening everyone out there. Sending you greetings from here along the Western Slopes of the Rocky Mountains where I am alive and well. Much love to you all, my dear friends and family members. See you very soon back home in Kansas where the mice have only slightly more sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment