A return, a departure, some rain and more mouse tales

I am back. Wow, almost two whole weeks since my last post. I am just getting worse and worse. Oh well, the mind has been somewhat fertile and I have been too busy to take the time to post. Bad me! Then again, I do not know how many people this is actually reaching, so in the end, who really cares?

The Lad arrived home from camp last week, July 21st. It was a good experience for him. It is also great to have him back. We were up at a friends' rented cottage over the weekend. Well, it was really drive up to the Bancroft area on Saturday morning and come back Sunday afternoon. It was a rustic cottage with dry wall up, ready to be taped, primed and painted. It also rained, on and off, more on than off, really, so that put a damper on our day. The Lad did catch some fish though.

We were fishing on a platform on Saturday. It was cloudy, but the rain did not start until we made it back to the cottage (just in time for dinner and it was a wonderful way to ruin the planned bonfire, oh well). I caught nothing on the platform, though I got a few nibbles. We used the plastic lures. On Sunday, we got the boys worms to use as bait. The Lad caught five fish from the dock and I had a nice kayak journey around the lake before lunch (and after going into Bancroft with our host).

Well, I have another mouse tail, er tale, to tell. I am on my way home on Monday, when I get a call from the Lad. He was putting something in the garbage and saw a mouse in our garbage drawer/compartment thing. I get home and figure that I am smart. I take the bin and bag outside. As I am tying up the bag, I feel something moving. This fucking mouse jumps up and out of the bag and scurries under the deck. The Wife asks if it is gone. I give her the good news, it is out of the house and the bad, it is not dead. Oh yeah, to make matters worse, the fucker left a shit calling card for me. It was soft and fresh, which meant I was cleaning out the bin, too.

We jump ahead to yesterday. We are having dinner and the power goes out around quarter to seven. No worries. Finish dinner and play a little baseball. We come home around 8 and the power still has not been restored. At some point, I go into the kitchen and hear a rustling sound. It is coming from the cupboard, beside the garbage compartment, where we keep our potatoes and onions/shallots/garlic. I could guess what was going on. I open up the door and see a mouse.

Now, we do not have power and I do not have any traps handy. What to do? We get some power back around 9:20 and I figure I need traps. I will try and put one in the cupboard with the mouse, hoping that it does not escape when I open the door. I make a quick trip to Lowe's (it is a little closer than the Home Depot), get a couple of traps and make my home. I get near the house and see that the power is gone, again.

At that point, I am not going to try to deal with the mouse. I mean, the thing is faster than I am, and I need my sight for this one. I did decide to bait and set the traps while I was there, though. All done by flashlight, no less. I figure I will try and get one in the cupboard with the mouse, close the door and let nature take its course. I also set one on the kitchen floor along the kickplate to the cabinets. Again, that door was not going to be opened until the lights came back on.

At about 10, the power is restored for good. I now have to go and deal with that fucking mouse. I put on my work gloves (used for all my critter disposal, poison baiting, garbage hauling and lumberjack needs), grab the broom (I need some kind of weapon in case it tries to escape) and realize that I have the second baited trap, set, on the counter. For some reason, I open the door and the thing squeals and jumps out. I smack the fucker with the broom and it runs towards the kickplate but away from the trap. I swing at it again, and in its sheer panic, it starts to run, along the kickplate, towards the trap.

I know from experience (see March of 2007 and my post regarding my hunting of the mouse in the Lad's room) that it will run into and set off the trap, though not because of the bait. The trap snaps and catches the fucker's neck. It's head is caught, legs are moving and tail is up in the air. Now, I have to taunt it and taunt it I do. I am telling it to lower its tail and just die, give it up and enjoy death, all that sort of shit. The tail eventually drops and it dies.

I now have to clean up its mess. I pull out the onions, etc. and throw them all out (I guess dinner will be less than flavorful tonight without the onions, garlic and shallots) along with the mouse in the trap. I clean the droppings (all fresh) and go back upstairs where The Wife and Lad sat playing cards. I am the Killer!

So, let that be a lesson to all you mice out there....I will kill you.

Ciao!