Some days, just before I grab my car keys and go look for a place to live in the city, I remind myself . . this is the life I wanted and what would I blog about if I had a normal life?
Here’s how my day was going til about 15 minutes ago . . pretty ordinary day except that I really don’t like leaving the house and I *really* don’t like making multiple stops!
- Take Rita to the vet to get her nails trimmed, glands expressed and talk to the vet about getting something to give her before it thunders.
- Go get a haircut.
- Go to the garden center to pick up bamboo they had ordered for us.
- Go to Aldi’s. I guess that’s something that will happen every time I leave home.
- Meet Vince for lunch.
- Stop by the vet to pick Rita up.
- Home! Yay!
Mushrooms
Aldi’s had mushrooms for .39/8 ounces so I got 24 containers of crimini mushrooms. The mushrooms were that price last week so I was happy to see they were still that price but they rang up for $1.99. I told the guy . . the sign says .39 so since they had not changed the sign, they let me have them for that price. Pretty good deal, huh?
Last year, I got mushrooms on sale at Kroger, not nearly for .39 cents but fairly inexpensive . . just can’t remember how much, and I dehydrated them and they were so good to drop into stews and gravies.
The dehydrators were put up for the winter so I brought both of them over from the shop. I knew they needed a good cleaning so I took the first four trays out of dehydrator #1. Got them all cleaned up.
Dehydrator Trays
I pulled the remaining 5 trays out and . . oh, dear! That pile of shredded batting means one thing . . a mouse has been in here.
Batting Scraps
I grabbed the first thing I could see . . a paint stirring stick, and went to rake the batting out and what do you think? Yep . . mama mouse is still in there.
Mama Mouse
I chased her around with the paint stick for a while. She’s in the upper right corner hiding.
Mouse
I chased her around with the paint stick til I realized that the only way for her to escape was if she came right at me and that probably was not a good idea so I walked away . . left her a lone.
Mouse
She can leave or she can stay or she can rebuild her nest . . Vince can deal with her when he gets home. And then he can open the second dehydrator and see what discoveries are made inside that one.
I will sit here and keep telling myself that living in the country is what I always wanted and in the end, I’ll take mice over close neighbors. I did call Vince and tell him. He said “We need feral cats” and I said yes, why don’t you stop at the feral cat store on your way home and get half a dozen of them! They’re not easy to find and they don’t last very long around here.
I’m headed out to the garden for a while and I’ll be watching out the corner of my eye for critters the rest of the day!
Lee says
I was a country kid, still country at heart, but could live without those kinds of critters, though I’d prefer the mice I think over the roof rats we get here in the suburbs. My hubs is a city boy….knows NOTHING of how to control such things, but after internet searches has made attempts at blocking entry holes, etc., set traps which they’ve totally ignored, finally got some pellet bait, but not sure that has helped. I know we still have at least “one” (yeah, right…rats do what rats do) in the garage. I can no longer keep foods in our garage which cuts my pantry overflow space and can’t even bleach clean until we “know” they’re gone. All that to say, I hope you clean that dehydrator REALLY well with a bleach solution, and find a way to keep those pesky critters from returning.
Joyce says
Dehydrated mouse…YUCK! I have pellet bait out in my basement, because I KNOW there have been mice down there. I’m living my delusion that they’ve never been upstairs just because I’ve never seen any signs of them. 🙂 I’ll just keep clinging to that delusion until I have evidence otherwise. I would set the dehydrator outside and hope mama exits post-haste.
Nancy says
You know – we also have mice in the city. One time we had brought home some Dahlia tubers and my husband had left the box in the car over night. A few weeks later I opened the glove box to have pinky mice fall into my lap and mama jump out on me. She had chewed up the registration for nest material. She and the babies had to be dispatched.
We also had a rat in the house one time. The cat would let us know where it was but would not approach it. It was pretty darned big.
Lately, we have been trapping rats that had gotten into the Chicken run. We have all of 3 hens, but the food attracts rats.
So stay in the country, we deal with the same kinds of critters in the city.
Kaholly says
Oh, Judy, your so funny. Yes, a mouse in your dehydrator is way better than a close neighbor. My daughter has a golden retriever who is afraid of thunder. She splurged for one of those ‘thunder shirts’ and it works like a charm. It’s really quite remarkable.
Krista says
Feral cats certainly don’t last long when you adopt them and give them a nice comfy home in your sewing room 🙂 (I know, Boots wasn’t feral, but I couldn’t resist). And I’m with those who say we have mice in the city. Enjoy your country life, and a husband who will dispatch the invading critters.
Swooze says
Check out Rescue Remedy for Rita. It’s a natural product that sometimes helps with thunder fear. Also check out belly bands. My dog was so distracted by the band that he stopped noticing the thunder. Good luck!
Linda says
I hope the mice didn’t get into all those batts you have stored.
Kate says
Just imagine what Mama Mouse is blogging tonight – – ” a woman came and picked up the whole house, and then stuck a giant stick in and ruined my nest……..” If you think YOU had a bad day , Mama Mouse had the WORST day !
Angie says
We used to have mice and rats, and Vince is right. Feral cats really do help. We and tried everything under the sun and the varmints ruined so many things in our storage sheds, not to mention the cleaning and smell they create. Cat Rescue here in our county encourages adopting feral cats. While we didn’t adopt any, one neighbor down the road did and they feed and care for at least dozen. They roam onto our property too. They have survived for years and we have coyote, raccoon, mountain lions and fox. We also feed them, only we take in the food every night or the raccoons and foxes will eat it all before a.m. The cats all look well fed and while they are very skittish, and we only see them off in the distance usually unless I startle one at the food dishes out in the wood shed. Yes, I’m sure something happens to them eventually, but they are very resourceful protecting themselves, and they are also spayed and neutered and I see the same ones around here for years now.
L says
The thunder shirts were about $50-100 here. With our dog, a baby “onesie” that is small enough to hug her but large enough to get on & off seems to calm her anxieties.
Michelle Harrison says
I vote baby onesie. Our miniature dachshund wore one backwards. The lower in front neck would have been nice, but the tail hole was better. Lily doesn’t pay any attention to thunder, we just covered her surgery bandages so she didn’t have to wear a cone.
Mice. Hmm. Do mice store acorns? Every two or three days, when I take the car out, acorns fall onto my feet. I find acorns in every door pocket. A friend says I may have chipmunks. I would hate to glue trap anything, but the small walk-in traps are not working this year. I am afraid to use poison bait because I love my little doggie too much to take the risk.
Vicky says
Watch out telling Vince that. He might come home with 40 dozen because they were on sale!!! 🙂
Tricia says
Will be thinking of you and your mom today. Wishing you a safe trip and your mom health.