Dec 11 2009
Experiment
I found a not completely dead mouse on the living room rug this morning.
This kind of discovery nearly precludes the need for coffee.
Henrietta was sitting a few inches away from the intruder, totally ignoring it. June was at the door, so I grabbed her and sat her right in front of it. She was as interested as Henrietta.
This is the kind of thing that makes you realize that you’re a grown-up. No-one else is going to get rid of the mouse in the living room. I have to admit that I considered calling Dial-A-Rob, but a glance at the clock told me that the service was closed.
I swept it into a dustpan, screaming when it squealed, and tossed it into the woods.
Eeeyaghhh!!
After the mouse removal, the next item on the agenda was to do something about the fact that it was 45 degrees in the house, as opposed to 43 outside (I told you it was like camping in here). The cold snap seems to have snapped, so it’s rainy and bleak outside, but at least the pipes aren’t frozen. Winter weather in Hooterville is either sunny and ass-freezing cold, requiring all day heat which makes me envision dollars flying out the window as the propane burns, or somewhat warmer and rainy, which means the power could go out. So you’re depressed by the rainy gloom and in constant terror of blackouts and no heat.
Yesterday, the boys came over with car batteries and some other thing which they attached to an extension cord and then the heater. The heater turned on obediently, and I ran it from the car batteries from noon yesterday until sometime between 3:30 this morning (when it was on) and 6:30 (when it wasn’t). So I know I can run the heater for at least 12 hours if the power goes out, and maybe a little more. I also have a couple of LED lights and some candles, so I guess I’m as prepared as I’ll ever be.
I don’t know what I’d do without those guys!
6 Responses to “Experiment”
Up here (way up North) we have saran wrap (my technical jargon)that you put on the windows to seal any drafts. Do you have something like that? I put it up every winter on the windows facing north.
It never ceases to amaze me that a creature no larger than a few inches can cause so much turmoil in a person’s life. As I recall, the last time we had a mouse in our house, we managed to move virtually ALL the furniture on our main floor to catch it. The only upside I can see is that it afforded an opportunity for a much-needed sweeping.
Sorry to hear you’re so cold.
Re: your windows:
What you have to get is called a vapour barrier and you can buy this in hardware stores…..in Canada, anyhow.This does make a great deal of difference to your heating problems, a positive difference in your favour….
Isn’t it awful to have this mouse situation? I just about go into orbit at such times……yuck!!! Good for you to deal with it….
jx
I see the cats are all well fed with the mouse left intact and all, they are keeping warm hunting, hope it gets warm soon for you.
I should look into that. I wonder if they make it big enough to cover the sliding glass doors?
It was only that cold because of the experiment of running the heater on battery power to see how long it would last. I usually have the heat at 54 overnight.
Maybe size really doesn’t matter. Tiny things like spiders and mice totally freak me out.