Weird scratching sounds. Moonlight beams through the window. Dog food kibbles hitting the floor. Squeaks of excitement. Yes, mice had broken into the house and were partying in the dry goods storage area. Turns out they were cleaning up dog food which had fallen under the shelving. And the rodent celebration had awoken me in the wee hours of Monday morning. Always unwise, for them at least. The following day I’d planned to be on site for work, so the interruption of my otherwise sound sleep was bound to cause serious consequences, for the miscreants. Oh well.
It must have been 3am, which it should be said, has never been my friend, but all the same, there Sandra and I were pulling apart the dry goods contents and shelving to try and find out what the heck was going on! The trail of tiny mouse poop was a good indicator as to the many rodent activities. Undamaged heavy bags of chicken and dog feed were hauled out to another room. The plastic bags were all carefully inspected for damage. Shelving was scrupulously cleaned. The bottom shelf was removed, and there the little rotter was, hiding in the corner pretending to be part of the timber skirting boards. A long plastic ruler was ready to deal a harsh beating, and far out! Mice are fast. Despite watching the pest, we were left with a mystery, where did it go? Teleportation was talked up in the 1970’s, but those were strange days.
We probably brought this latest mess down onto our heads. If I’d had to redesign the house from scratch in these more knowledgeable days, I’d have concrete trenches and use brick strip footings. That combination would then support the timber frame off the ground. But back when we had to make a choice about how we were going to build this place, and had no idea about rats or mice. Now we do, but it’s now too late for those regrets.
Surrounding the lower parts of the house, we used what is known as a timber framed fire wall. It’s sturdy stuff using solid materials which have been tested in combination to withstand direct flame contact for 90 minutes, without damage. Great for bushfire protection, but the rodents have learned ways to get under it. Turns out, both rats and mice are handy at tunnelling. Who knew? Here’s the house ground level firewall:
It doesn’t look like much, but a lot of technical finesse and financially ruinous materials have gone into that firewall. All of the crushed rock with lime surrounding the house, kind of further reduces the possibility of direct flames ever testing the firewall for 90 minutes. I’d not want to discover that the design was wanting. Observant readers, will notice that right next to the wall, are much larger rocks of the same origins, but bigger.
Long term readers will recall the many rat dramas we’ve had in the past. Rats are smart creatures, and I have nothing but respect for them. The dogs and I have gone head to head with them on many an occasion, and we’re still here. But to put it bluntly, the rats are nervous these days. We kicked their ass! The battle was long though, Dame Plum got worms, as did I. A revolting experience.
Anywhoo, we trialled the larger rocks around the outside of the house on the basis that they’d be too heavy for the large rodents to move. This has mostly been true for years. We’d fixed a problem, but without realising it, created another predicament. The large rocks have spaces between them, which are just big enough for the smaller mice to squeeze through. What a nightmare it’s been this week!
People in rural areas generally know that in late autumn, rodents will begin thinking about ways to secure a toasty warm and dry winter bedroom. Whilst car engine bays have been tested, a house promises the best outcome. Plus there may be food in a humans’ den. In the past week, the mice have tunnelled under the firewall.
The dogs with their sensitive noses, have been called into action to determine where the mice had broken in. It also helped that I crawled around under the floor and carefully examined the entire house perimeter. Here’s Dame Plum rat killer extraordinaire, hard at work:
Turns out, the larger rocks visually hid all of the mouse tunnels. We couldn’t see them. The big rocks were a good idea, until they were a bad idea, and then they were a bad idea. Scraping them away from the house, we’ve discovered about five entrance points. Those have begun to be temporarily sealed up. Over the next week, we’ll remove all of the larger rocks, dig trenches around the house. Concrete will then be mixed up with a batch of smaller rocks, and that combination will backfill the trenches. The mouse and rat tunnelling days will be over.
In the meantime, we’ve had to rush out and purchase a few extra heavy duty plastic containers which are used to store the dry goods. In particular, we buy roasted unsalted peanuts by the large box, and that was at risk. Mice can destroy cardboard and thinner plastic. There are serious health risks associated with rodent poop and wee, and so they’re probably best avoided.
Such sturdy items are cheap now, and were still priced competitively this week at the shops. However, even Blind Freddy knows that plastic is a by-product of the oil industry, and costs in that area, are going up! Plastic packaging price pain could push up costs for shoppers on everything from milk to make-up
I’ve joked around in the past that Western Civilisation could come undone due to a lack of food preservation equipment, except the claim is not so funny these days. Rats have been on this continent for about five million years apparently, and they have always been a problem with food storage. And I’m reading credible reports of shortages with rat bait too due to environmental concerns and current world events. What other people are doing on this front is a mystery to me, but right now I’m permanently dealing with the issue here! And just like the recent rat wars, it’s best to give the mice no easy opportunities, then no quarter, and they’ll wisely head elsewhere where easy perquisites can be enjoyed.
The weather here for most of the week has been glorious. A true Indian Summer of warm calm days, and moderate nights. Some mornings brought fog hanging over the valley below:
On Sunday, the spell broke, and winter arrived with considerable force. Rain, cold air and under an hours peak sunshine. No day for outdoors work.
The impending arrival of winter stood out like the proverbial dogs testicles in the forecast! So whilst it was still warm and dry, we slapped a third coat of dark grey paint on the cantina shed, and white gloss on the barn doors.
Observant readers will note that the cantina shed has one rough looking side which faces downhill and currently remains unpainted. The order for the corrugated dark grey steel sheets which will eventually clad that, had been delayed. Hmm.
The warmer weather was a great time to split and haul the final remaining pile of firewood which was located way down below the house and nearer to the forest edge. This stuff had sat in the sunshine for a bit under a year, and was super dry. Why not process it and store the chunks in the new shed which was built for this very purpose?
It’s all been neatly stacked in the new shed and was a big increase over the quantity stored last week.
By the beginning of the second day of that work, there were only a few runs of splitting and hauling to do before the firewood pile was entirely cleared.
There’s now a decent quantity of firewood under cover in the new shed. Each side of the shed, now has roughly similar sized stacks. These resources are in addition to the stores in the much smaller original shed.
There’s a state election in November, and presumably the government is attempting to win brownie points with the rural population by ramping up forest burn off maintenance in the nearby area. The area is close to Mount Bullengarook and for some reason, each summer lately there are outbreaks of fires near to there. Makes a suspicious person wonder, and I’d suggest that given the outcomes, there is little difference between arson and stupid.
The higher authoritas have been lax with their care of the forests over the past five or six years. And given their desultory efforts at this task, I’d grade their school report with an: F-, whilst supplying the mysterious comment: Easily distracted and could do better! It sounds counter intuitive, but removing two thirds of the trees, particularly the smaller ones in those dense forests, would produce a healthier environment overall.
With the new firewood shed project largely completed, I was able to finally get onto other activities, some of which had been sadly neglected. The regular process of machinery maintenance and servicing began. UV stable conduit was placed over the wires for the recently installed solar panels. The plastic sheaths on the cables themselves are meant to be UV stable, but a second layer of protection against the strong sun doesn’t hurt. And the stuff is cheap, at the moment. Also I began the task of maintaining the garden beds by chopping and dropping a large number of feral Echium plants which had grown from seed. There’s never a dull moment here!
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 9’C (48’F). So far for this year there has been 317.6mm (12.5 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 297.8mm (11.7 inches)
Comments
41 responses to “Raiders of the lost mouse”
Yo, Chris – Gods deliver me from mouse wars. You’ll be consulting Sun Tzu, reflecting on lessons from your old Sensei, and may even dip into Conan. For battle plans and maneuvers. Give no quarter! Death to all mice! 🙂
Where’s the mouse? Buddying up with Waldo? Hiding behind the couch, using dust bunnies as protective coloration? When least expected, it will probably leap from some unexpected quarter.
Yes, plastic containers is the way to go. I throw most of my dry goods in the freezer for a few days, and then into food grade, five gallon buckets, they go. That’s mostly for bugs, which have been a problem in the past.
Winter has arrived there. Summer seems to have arrived here. Sure feels and smells like it.
The new fire shed and cantina, are looking very sharp. Once your finished with this and that small deferred projects, any idea what the next big project will be?
The Fernwood Firewood Bank looks topped up. No danger of runs on that bank. Through a lot of hard work, supplies are lush.
We have orange poppies, that pop up here and there. I can’t remember seeing any white ones. I’ll have to ask the Master Gardeners, tomorrow.
Mullein. “Toilet paper of the woods,” AKA “The logger’s friend.” 🙂 And all the medicinal uses. Your mullein doesn’t look like our mullein. So, I took a look down the rabbit hole. Yours has multiple flower stocks. Ours had one, big standard. Like in this picture.
https://w.wiki/HKkH
But, I see that there are subspecies, and, looking at images, multi flower stocks is one of them.
We have two or three volunteers, a year. They seem to grow outside, but right up against our raised beds or tanks. I can usually talk whoever owns the bed, to leave them be. Given a bit of time (as they are biennial), they’re pretty striking and stately. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Rodents never sleep, or that’s my take on their pesky activities. We now spend at least half an hour per day cleaning where the rodents have been, and that’s how we know that they’re on the back foot. Mind you, I read this morning that a couple of folks died from the Hanta virus whilst on a cruise ship. Where were the ship’s cats I ask you? Those felines have just one job, although cruise ships may not employ cats?
As to the next major project, well that began today. I dug about 20ft of trenches down the side of the house, then backfilled the trenches with a concrete mix made of the crushed rock with lime and cement. The evidence from the chicken enclosure suggests that rodents of all shapes and sizes are unable to dig through concrete, try as they might! I’ll get around the entire house over the next week or two, depending upon the weather. And then there are the paths which need completing. Some of the soil excavated today ended up on the path project. The large rocks went onto rock gabion cage top most surfaces.
Removing the larger sized rocks and digging the trenches revealed far more holy activity than I’d previously considered. Mr Greer suggested that a prayer or two to Saint Gertrude of Nivelles would be a worthwhile activity at this untimely moment, and I ain’t arguing with good advice.
There was scope to do another 12ft of trenches, but the weather turned nasty this afternoon. A good excuse to pack up and do some admin activities in the nearby township. Stopped off at the mower supply and repair biz, and picked up two sets of Hirosaki steel blades for the big Japanese ride on mower. Prices were up about 12%. I noticed that the Japanese Prime Minister met ours today in Canberra and agreed to much co-operation on many levels, but may not have mentioned the mower blades. A lot of gas and minerals are exported in that direction, and defence tech and other goodies flow here in return – new ships apparently, probably better than the outgoing ones.
I have to laugh about the Conan stuff because the message was very unsubtle, but also true, depending. The land of stuff folks say that empires go up with hobnailed boots, and down with silk slippers – and Conan would probably prefer the hobnailed boots, and lower bureaucratic costs – which was a side narrative in a Robert E Howard story.
Where’s the mouse (or rat/s) is a fine question to which I have no answer at present, but I can hear activity. Maybe in the walls or attic space, but it’s getting harder for them to exit, and they’re enjoying a special feed. I heard them last night chewing on either fibro cement or plywood, not sure which. The battle will be long. There may be sacrifices. And we’re at the mercy of the weather with the trenching and concreting.
Yeah, plastic food containers, at least the sturdier variety, are a very elegant technology. Bugs aren’t so much of an issue down here, but hey, that’s today. Who knows what the future holds in store? Weevils and pantry moths always were.
Your weather has gone from pleasant, and is, if I may dare venture an opinion, become somewhat overly warm. A bit of middle ground would be nice? On that note, Thursday will be remarkably cold here! Brr! A taste of winter for Southeast Australia later next week I doubt any snow will fall here, but it sounds very likely at higher elevations on the continent.
Commercial firewood utilises an awful lot of diesel fuel, and um, yeah, expensive stuff. Local is best with that resource. It soothes my soul to see the stores filling up.
Oh, the gardening club here sells a lot of different coloured Californian Poppies, but whether those other varieties survive the wintry conditions here is something I’ve not worked out yet. The seeds however have been cast around, but who knows? What did your master gardeners have to say about other poppy colours?
🙂 Some amusing but useful plant names are remembered, like your cheeky reference to the Mullein. Apparently the seeds are viable for a century, and that’s amazing to consider the evolutionary pressures which would have dictated the need for that – like say, the long winter following on from the end of the dinosaurs.
There’s also a very pretty purple mullein. That’s how they grow here as well. Not prolific, but a plant will pop up in a disturbed area. Super hardy and agreed, stately is the word.
The Banksy miniature from a few years ago is great, and is it my imagination, or what, but the horse reminds me of Mr Ed looking at Wilbur (who in that case is a young lady) from within his stall – which was transposed to an English tudor style setting? The commentary is pithy, and could mean anything, plus there is the rat – which may be triggering for me right now! Nah, not really. All for a good cause too. Lovely work, and a real treat for the eyes.
I am familiar with the clipart books, but like published magazines, they have now fallen into the past, despite them still carrying weight. Hmm. It’d be intriguing for Banksy to release a nice hardback Clipart book of royalty free specific images. Kind of like when macrosoft made wundows free, circulation boomed. It’s funny, but the Editor and I were discussing encountering the Helmut Newton book on a pedestal at a very stylish house a couple of decades ago. Not something you see everyday.
I’ve heard that claim about the ‘truth being out there’. Aliens, absolutely… 😉
I’m mildly worried that I’ll get into a lot of trouble, and the cheeky parrots won’t enjoy the experience, so we’ll have to come up with some other get rich quick scheme that’s not so risky! 🙂 Dame Plum got up close and personal with a King Parrot this morning. Those birds usually have a look out, and despite the squawking, the parrot flew off. It’s Darwinian, but probably had something to do with the snap cold weather blunting their edge.
Man, that’s a lot of pressure! And yeah, maybe I mumbled over the ‘nikto’ bit, but how bad can the Evil Dead really be? 😉
Exactly, we were all fine before plastic packaging. And with the storage of grains, dry goods etc. there was glass, and also the timber boxes lined with sheet metal – which I observed used in my childhood. It’s not hard. The dirty little secret is that plastic is cheap, because it’s a by product of the oil industry and clearly something had to be done with the stuff. The heavy oil supplies will always be the biggest headache because there is less of that needful stuff.
Philosophers down the ages have asked that same question! Must I be sensible? Much depends upon personal circumstances, as you’d no doubts be aware. The unresolved issue is, where you sensible avoiding the extra Gouda. Have you put this issue to the ultimate taste test? 🙂
Your land sharks will be striking a hard blow for the resistance against the Evil Slug Empire, or ESE for short. Although there are some who believe that ESE is an advanced psychological therapy which promises advancements over the former EST. Naturally being earlier in an alphabetic ordering of acronyms assures this outcome!
Tempting to consume the tall asparagus spear, but maybe a week or so ago. They grow fast, don’t they? I assume your spears will harvest sunlight this season, and produce better next year, but who knows. They’re hardy once established. I’m unsurprised the crown produced thicker spears given it’d be the older plant.
Pill bugs are everywhere! Natures little clean up crew, although like what you mentioned, it’d be nicer if they kept away from the seedlings. Oh well, land sharks do thy bidding!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I was going to link to an article about the cruise ship and the Hanta virus. I guess it made the news, in Australia. You pay your money and take your chances. Seems like someone is always either falling, or getting thrown overboard. Or coming down with some loathsome disease, on those cruises.
As far as the Mice War goes, perhaps it’s time to deploy … The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch! I see the original sold at a prop sale, several years ago. Probably went for a pretty penny, due to the rare, and now unobtainable components, that went into its construction. 🙂
I took a look down the rabbit hole, at St. Gertrude. Patron saint of cats, actually. Here’s a bit from her life, the kind of thing that drives historians wild. “The anonymous author of her Early Middle Ages biography, Vita Sanctae Geretrudis, only hints at her origins: “it would be tedious to insert in this account in what line of earthly origin she was descended. For who living in Europe does not know the loftiness, the names, and the localities of her lineage?” That’s right up there with, “He was no Arthur.” Or a bit more detail on St. Patrick’s origins. Maybe the lack of details was all an attempt to save on parchment?
Sounds like your skiers, up in the Australian alps, will rejoice! If they can afford the gas to get there. Our high yesterday was 84F (28.88C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). Our forecast high for today is 80F. Daytime highs will decline all week, until they settle into a nice, comfortable, mid 60s by the weekend.
It’s cold enough here, that our poppies act like annuals. But, they always seem to pop up somewhere. Not overwhelmingly invasive. Just persistent.
I see many Banksy figures are on offer, on E-Buy. Many, not all that expensive. I’d guess a few might show up in the op-shops.
Ah, I see clip art books are still available. And, of course they show up in used book shops. Dover Publishing (still in business, I see), had a lot of them. Dover is an interesting company. A lot of their catalog is items that have fallen into the public domain. They had a whole line of punch out and assemble historic houses. And, many paper doll books.
Somewhere around here, I’ve got a Victorian biscuit tin. Made of tin and covered with paper advertising. I think I’ve talked about “kitchen queens.” Large pieces of mostly oak furniture, that had large, tin lined flour bins.
And, lastly, the foodies are all in a froth, over a hard to get, trendy ingredient.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/02/business/ube-farms-philippines-intl-hnk-dst
Reminded me of an old short poem. I wonder if it made it to Australia. I heard it a lot, when I was a kid. About purple cows.
https://w.wiki/FFA9
I mention it, as it might give you an edge, in the next pub quiz. :-). Lew
Hi. Chris!
That’s a funny title.
Well, now you know you can’t beat a mouse with a ruler . . . I didn’t know about mice either when this house was being built. You would think I would have a clue as the only other house we owned before this log one had rats. And roaches the size of mice (I am not kidding. They do things bigger in Texas).
Mice not only can tunnel, they can fly. This is true as I saw one once. Little Mad Dog (head of the mouse gang) jumped off the roof, 3 floors up, and landed on the grass (lucky for him) with a bounce, then scampered off. My son and I were right near where he landed. He reappeared in the house later that night; we knew because we had painted a purple dot on him in a previous encounter in a Havahart trap.
Dame Plum is a marvel, once again!
I had had a thought about whether or not plastics in general were going to become less available, and thus more costly. It seems to follow. Thanks for the article.
We have had glorious weather, too, but no rain (or I guess it wouldn’t be glorious). How much water is underneath us? Ah – your winter is back. So smart of you to get all that lovely firewood inside before the weather changed.
You have to admit that forest management is a huge and expensive job, and is not likely to be a priority.
I finally got some decent Parmesan and so made the radish leaf pesto. I like it. I did add a tiny bit of dried basil as my basil outside is just coming up. Do you mind listing the ingredients you use, no measurements necessary?
Mr. Musty the Toyota pickup has new brakes. He was going downhill too fast.
From last week:
The citrus looks kind of puny. Most of their leaves fell off the last part of winter (except that it keeps coming back) in the basement and there is one leafless lemon tree with one lemon hanging on it.
Thank you. We now know how some Dames earn their title.
Our ceilings were lowered and insulated after we had lived in the house awhile. We had no idea it was going to be so noisy.
May Day was the Beltane celebration, as far as I can tell.
Oh my goodness, pumpkin flowers in winter. It’s a shame you don’t have seeds from it. Or do you? Thank you for all the rest of the beautiful flowers.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Thanks, and I enjoyed a few chuckles from the title as well. DJ put the idea into my head a few days ago.
Pam, I didn’t stand a chance to even get anywhere near the mouse. Far out they are so fast. It was like a blur. Oh my! Spare me from the Texan cockroaches, they’re truly epic in scale. And that’s the unstated thing don’t you reckon? Until you’ve lived with the results, a design is merely an aspiration which may, or may not work, but will probably get somewhere, or other, maybe. 🙂
Little Mad Dog was probably reincarnated as a stuntman, or one of those folks who can walk a tightrope suspended between two tall buildings. The thought of that activity makes me feel mildly queasy! I’ve had rats jump through the air at me, when Dame Plum and I put a stop to their activities. I’m embarrassed to admit that I very manly, squealed in total fright. Those rodents have no fear.
Actually I dabbed a spot of paint on the backs of the cannibal chickens too just to be certain that I’d not made an error. It’s a handy technique. Only one chicken was marked incorrectly, and the Light Sussex was granted a reprieve and eventually died of old age.
Yeah, sorry to say, but the price for plastic will follow the upward trajectory of the cheaper grades of gasoline. Not much we can do about it, other than buy only the needful. On a more positive note, I have it on good authority that the corrugated steel for the cantina shed is ready to pick up. Yay! It’ll look sharp after the make over.
Always hard to know where the water table is, but usually the shrubs give me a clue about that here. When the shrubs die back whilst the tall trees look fine, the water has dropped a lot. When the tall trees start dropping their leaves in stress, it’s even deeper and that is a major worry. I noticed that the local creek continued to flow, even during the hot and dry start to this year, although stream flow looked pretty bad by the end.
Hope you get some decent rain soon, but not too much that it is a massive problem. I don’t recommend my patented weather incantation due to shocking consequences, but if things get desperate on a rain front…
The firewood stores are a genuine pleasure to behold. We may not have flash cars, but at least we’re warm.
I absolutely agree with you regarding the forest management costs.
Ooooooo! Yummo! Just cornered the Editor and put her to the question. Here is the answer:
– Greens
– Olive Oil
– Parmesan
– Paprika (dried)
– Thyme (dried)
– Fresh Chilli
– Peanuts (you can swap any nuts really, but each will give a different flavour)
– Salt
– Pepper
Ook! We’ve all been there with the fading brakes, and Mr Musty will no doubts enjoy and respond well to the care and attention.
Hmm. Interesting to hear how your citrus are going. I’ve skeletonised a tree which was impacted by a fungus, then treated the soil with lime, and the citrus bounced back. They’re tough but do enjoy a drink of water and have only shallow root systems. Fingers crossed for your trees – and I’d be tempted to pick that fruit. 🙂
That’s what I was kind of getting at with design. It’s hard to know how a building will work, until it’s built and lived in. I’ll be modifying the house here over the next few weeks so as to exclude the rodents. They weren’t even on my mind when we built this place, and I could have stopped the mischief at that stage with about an hours work. Ook! Regrets, we’ve all had a few! The extra insulation would make your place cosy in the winter months.
Agreed about May Day, and as someone who worked until 8:30pm tonight, I’m not even thinking about the other leftie stuff. It’s nice for some, but not spread equally.
I know! Spare a thought for the poor little confused pumpkin plants. We did pick the pumpkins which were smashed up by the hail, and plenty of the seeds are viable.
I love the flowers too. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh yeah, that cruise ship sounds like a horror show. I just want to get off the ship… Will some rats break quarantine and arrive in a new port? Not that it is meant to be transmissable between people, but the rats could reach new destinations. I’m not a fan of cruises, but people seem to like them. I’ve often wondered if that is because everything is kind of provided and all you have to do is turn up and enjoy the experience? Dunno.
Those cheeky Monty Python scamps. You know, before this moment, I’d not realised that the patron saint of hand grenades, was none other than: Saint Attila! Pretty funny. Oh my! More revelations (and thanks for mentioning the sale of the prop), because I’m guessing that it was probably one of the most expensive toilet ballcocks ever sold. And with it, may thy enemies be blown to tiny bits. Amen. What a fun addition to the collection it would be.
Fingers crossed I can do a bit more trenching and concreting tomorrow. That’ll fix their tiny little twitchy nosed balls of fuzz mischief. The weather is set to turn tomorrow evening (Wednesday) and this mountain range was mentioned in the news as a possible site for snow on Thursday (at higher elevations than where I’m at): Snow to blanket four states, including towns below the mountains. It’s a bit early.
I’m a bit tired tonight after a long work day, and scratched the ceramic bathroom hand wash basin. Oh well. Doing a interweb search people are recommending to use that barkeepers friend you’ve mentioned before. Hmm. Interesting, it’s some sort of Oxalic acid and has been around for a long while. Have you had to repair scratches in ceramic during your tat days? Might have to apply some clear epoxy to it as well. These things happen.
I completely missed the reference to cats with my earlier reading on Saint Gertrude. The wikipudding page was full of 7th century political intrigue in relation to the very capable lady. A lot of names were thrown around, and it must have been important way back then, but yes there were equal bouts of uncertainty. It was the 7th century after all, and truly it is amazing that any records survived to this day. For all we know, the whole lot could have been entirely made up in a fit of hagiography by some bored cleric! You’d hope the parchment wasn’t recycled? 🙂
Mid to low 80’F will kick start the garden, but wow, it’d feel like a bit of a shock after the cooler weather leading up to now? A good time to water the seedlings I reckon. At least the cooler nights will make for more pleasant sleeping conditions.
Thanks for mentioning your experience with the poppies, because people say they’re weedy down here. However, I’m yet to observe any of those plants growing outside of a well fertilised garden bed. The forest is a tough place, and it is possible that the forest critters would learn to eat the plant anyway.
Oh my! There were rather a lot of Banksy items for sale on eBuy, not all of which were – as you noted – expensive. It is possible that the artist would place the occasional item in an obscure spot like an op-shop, like that girl with horse in the barn sculpture. Why not at a model train exhibition? I doubt the punters would notice, for a while at least. The owners of those set pieces are very proprietorial, and they’d possibly notice the swifty placement like a hawk. ‘Ere, what’s this then, hey Gov?
Thanks, I very much enjoyed the Dover site, but then I’m very much a bookworm, as are you! 🙂 I recall the press out books which made three dimensional models, and the dinosaurs skeletons were a fave. Very cool. You’d have come across those, maybe?
The interweb threw up (!) a lot of noise when doing the search for Kitchen Queen furniture. Far out. When I was a kid, those large items of furniture were relegated to almost display cabinets of the finest crockery, which nobody was allowed to touch, let alone use. Built in kitchens really put an end to that style of furniture. Yes, who’d have thunk that melamine could be preferred over solid oak?
And I’d forgotten about the large old biscuit tins, but they were never thrown out and enjoyed a long life span of multiple uses.
Candidly, the purple colour was a touch off putting, and maybe a person has to have grown up consuming the stuff? In a latte… What the heck? The drink looks like it just stepped out of a rave after a night of bad acid! I remain unconvinced, but perhaps I’m not easily bored.
I love the purple cow poem. It’s great. The confession he rued, is a hoot. And I’d be chuffed to have penned such pithy lines. Only someone in command of the rules, can bend them that far and create something new.
Oh! Put in an order for the replacement capacitors for the new / old amplifier. Should brighten up the sound, a lot. The total cost for the repairs, around $45 – if nothing goes wrong with the restoration. And I picked the good quality components too, could have gone for the cheaper options.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Legionnaires Disease seems to be another big one, for cruise ships. And, of course, You Know What. The Black Death was spread by ships. Now a’days, we do disease spread, so much more efficiently, with planes. 🙂
Speaking of disease, or, at least famine, I watched the “Finding Your Roots” segment, on Stephen King, the other night. Some of his ancestors had come from Ireland, and the time frame fit “The Frost.” I hadn’t heard of that. It was about as bad as the famine we all hear about, but earlier. Ireland wasn’t as dependent on the potato, at that time, but it killed what potatoes there were, and grain crops.
https://w.wiki/MiYy
In the same auction of props as the Holy Hand Grenade, was also the ax, from “The Shinning.” Speaking of which, I received the DVD of King’s version, yesterday. I watched the first episode (of three), last night. So far, pretty good. Of course, I’ve got a bit of a vested interest. 🙂 As King wanted, they hit the recovery / AA aspect, hard, right from the get-go.
Our high yesterday was 77F (25C). Our overnight low was a steady 55F (12.77C). Our forecast high for today is 76F. It sounds like your forecast for snow, will be like ours, this last winter. Much promised, and none delivered. At least where you live.
When I moved into this apartment, there was (is) a small nick in the bathroom sink. I’ve never done anything about it. Of course, something to maybe consider is if the fixture had a cast iron base, or fiberglass. I occasionally did minor ceramic repairs by building up layers of clear nail polish. But clear epoxy would probably wear better.
Speaking of seedlings, I was checking my potatoes, when we took our midnight walk. They’re up about 3-4″. Boooo! There were small woodlice, going at them. Not many, but they were there. I knocked them off with the butt of my flashlight. I hope into the jaws of my land sharks. Bears watching. And I wonder if that’s why my rocket hasn’t made an appearance, yet.
I asked the Master Gardeners, and we don’t have any white or light yellow poppies, about the place. Just orange ones, that pop up, here and there.
What I found appealing about the Dover publications was that they were relatively, inexpensive. Sometimes, you’d see spinner racks of them, here and there.
Sadly, as with oak china cupboards, kitchen queens have fallen on hard times. Back when I was in the tat trade, they went for $1,200+. Over the last few years, I haven’t seen on go, at auction, for over $200. There was a couple, retired teachers, here in town. Every year, they’d head to the mid-west with a truck, and load up on kitchen queens. He’d do any repairs, and they sold them out of their space, in an antique mall.
Back in the past, wardrobes were also much in evidence. As, a lot of houses didn’t have closets. I have a small wardrobe, next to my computer. From England, oak. Has “linen panels,” which I really like, and always wanted a piece of furniture, with that bit of decoration. Who knows why. Wardrobes have also fallen on hard times.
I don’t think I’ll be going in search of that purple stuff. There are blue and purple potatoes. I’m not much interested in those, either. Here, you can buy a mix of seed potatoes … in red, white and blue. I guess they make a splash, on the 4th of July picnic table.
Capacitors. You get what you pay for? One would hope. Lew
Chris:
As with everything else in Australia, the rats are tougher than anywhere else.
Yay! Yes, the cantina shed is going to rival the new firewood shed once it gets its new roof.
I wanted to use up some of the Parmesan I had bought for the pesto, so today I made mac n cheese.
Did you know that if you can’t get a jar lid open, even after the hot-water treatment, you can tap the edges of it on a sidewalk (or a rock; our sidewalk is made of rocks) and that usually works.
Thank you for the pesto ingredients. I use basil instead of thyme and no paprika, and fresh garlic instead of chillis.
Today has been high, hot, dry winds; I find them disconcerting. At least we have plenty of hoses now (I think), though our water pressure is never that good. It was supposed to rain most of tomorrow, now that has been changed to a 2 hour window, so we shall see. I had contemplated asking for rain and then decided against it, thanks to your experience. When is it okay to do so, do you think?
Pam
@ Chris and Lew:
I have useed Barkeepers Friend for decades. I love it; used it today on some cooked on stuff in a casserole dish. I also clean the sink with it. I also use Bon Ami; it is even supposed to be a bit gentler than BF. I can’t tell the difference.
Pam
Chris,
Nice title. Good that Dame Plum was helping. Perhaps between the two of you, and your concrete project, the Lesser Mouse War will go the way of the Great Rat War.
Beware! If a lone mouse later invades the pantry, it might be The Mouse That Roared, perhaps even gaining technological and weapon superiority over the House of Chris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mouse_That_Roared
Or even worse. Perhaps a roaring mouse might signify the beginnings of an entire animal campaign to take over Fernglade Farm, ala Animal Farm. Only this time it will be wombats and wallabies in charge or maybe ruled by a group of exasperatingly snarly hungover koala bears. Best to eradicate all the mice you can find, and then some.
Got the potatoes planted Sunday. As usual, there are going to be about 10 volunteers from the potatoes I missed last fall. I also bought more seed potatoes than I realized. The result is that the entire garden bed is potatoes this year. That’s okay, everything else will go into various containers.
Dame Avalanche had a very big day Monday. There was her normal morning walk. Then I found and purchased a LOT of cherry tomato seedlings, two each of bell pepper, Anaheim chili and jalapeno pepper seedlings. And more gardening soil for containers. New smells for the dame.
Then I noticed that the new neighbors’ rottweiler puppy had escaped its area to roam freely about the yard, which does NOT have good fencing. So I wandered over, grabbed the pup and brought her into our yard. Ooops, I mean the Realm of Dame Avalanche. It was warmish out, 27C give or take. The two played together a lot. However, after an hour of mostly playing with short breaks, Dame Avalanche wanted to rest while the 6 week old pup was still full of energy. Eventually, Dame Avalanche wanted indoors, alone, while I remained outdoors playing with the pup and various toys.
Then the 3 of us had to run to the vet – a vaccination for the Dame. Soon after we arrived home, one of the neighbors got home from work. Dame Avalanche was rescued! She was VERY happy to have me to herself again.
Wednesday afternoon looks to be another big planting day. Young Neighbor wants to help, so the two of us will get all of the seedlings planted, then work on seeds for carrots, chives, etc. This should be fun.
During Monday’s walk, a big plume of black smoke was visible a few miles northeast of here. Turns out a business that tows vehicles then turns them to scrap metal had some problem with a pile of metal. It caught on fire, or the chemicals in the pile did. Fire department worked quickly.
Good job with the wood. You are going to have enough wood now for the winter! Better to have too much wood than not enough.
The forget me nots are starting to bloom now. All of the fruit trees are done blooming. The Oregon grape is about to start too.
Today was a total complete slow day. Morning walk with the Dame, a few light household chores, then something I’ve not done in many months. I sat in front of the tv. No computer. No books. No wood projects. Just old movies all afternoon and most of the evening. On a short break from movies now, then back to more movies. Felt good doing nothing.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
The rats / mice managed to gnaw a small hole in the side of a very thick flour bag overnight. A bit of a nuisance, and resulted in lots of flour (just to be sure) going into the worm farm. Still not as bad as the box of oats the mice managed to get into. The whole lot ended up being feed for the native birds, and they’re not complaining.
Whoa! The rain is pounding down on the roof with an Antarctic storm. The forecast is suggesting a minor snow possibility later tonight, which sounds frankly unrealistic given it is still 50’F outside and very wet. Dunno.
In between paid work, at around lunchtime, the sun shone, and so another section of the house now has a concrete trench. The plan over the next week or two, is to totally get around the entire house. This rodent nonsense has to stop, and I’m drawing the line in the clay, here and now. Sounds as tough as the rats huh? 🙂 They might be tougher, maybe…
Yeah, the corrugated steel should really lift that Cantina shed and give it a solid freshen up. The weather forecast next week is looking pretty nice. The next few days though, Antarctic would be an adequate description.
Yum! Yum! And Parmesan has such a nice sharp bite to the taste it would have lifted your Mac and Cheese to true gourmet Mac and Cheese status. What was your impression with the innovation to the meal?
Dunno about you, but encountering well sealed jars is kind of reassuring, although I’d not thought to put your rock idea to the test. Absolutely it would work. The local preserving mob sell a really interesting bottle opener (which your son may be able to make out of a very sturdy blade screwdriver) and it works a treat! Bottle Opener. There are utoob videos with it in action, and I’ve got two of them.
Pam, that’s exactly it! Pesto is a way to consume super tasty and fresh ingredients from the garden. Purists have their ideas, but my gut feeling is that the recipe is a bit loose like many dishes emanating from Italy.
That sort of weather is disconcerting, and with a well, all which needs doing in the worst case scenario, is being able to provide continuous power to the pump, all other considerations to the side. And maybe having some heat tolerant clothes and protective equipment at a pinch, like the sort of coveralls and gloves a welder would use. It would be better than shorts and t-shirt.
My experience suggests that it is OK to do so, when there is time, and are no other alternatives, but there are always costs to these things. I over did it, and look what happened. Oh well.
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris,
I believe there are yabbies hereabouts. There is an old mill pond where I imagine they would hang out. I don’t know any fisher folk and haven’t ever caught them but there is an annual yabbie race day in spring.
Wall rocket I have grown before in the city. It was very useful. I didn’t bring seeds with me here so now only have the tender variety.
I haven’t heard anything about ratsak sorry. I have been using the way more expensive kind based on gluten and salt which doesn’t kill birds and other predators. But the rodents need a good feed on it or it doesn’t work at all.
Unfortunately I didn’t see your entries about the ratproof chicken enclosure.
There was a bit of rain here on Monday. It has given the garden, and me, a little respite. I think I shall have to go back to watering again in a day or two.
Of chips in Vacola jars: it turns out to be quite easy to smash a fowler bottle with a well-aimed coffee cup. The cup only suffered a tiny chip on the rim which took three days to notice but the jar had to go bye-bye.
Interesting about the uv proof conduit, which I suppose has stood you in good stead in the past. I haven’t found too much plastic that can withstand solar radiation. Shadecloth seems fine; the sheeting on the hoophouse tears after a short time; polished headlight covers go yellow again almost straight away; UV stabilised cable ties, even really dear ones (@25c each) don’t seem to last more than 3-4 months. It’s a frustrating waste of time replacing them.
I have been growing california poppies too and get the same limited range of colours you do: saffron orange, yellow and cream. The wild type orange ones are by far the hardiest. Having planted many seeds of supposed crimson/red/purple varieties and not seen one grow to maturity I gotta think they are all right in a greenhouse but too frail for the real world. It’s a shame. Crimson and purple flowers are by far my favourite shades.
kallianeira
Hi DJ,
Look, I’m not saying you were to blame for the title, but, you know, maybe it was you… 🙂 Far out, the conversations here go places, and reading your comment last week and the idea was kind of floated in the background: What would Indiana Jones do about the mice / rats? Shoot them probably after an exotic encounter!
You’re so right. Great Rat Wars, and lesser mouse war. I’d not thought of the situation that way, but yeah. OK, I’m already chuckling at your link: The Wrath of Grapes. It’s a bit like National Lampoon’s: Bored of the Rings! Ah, an absurd tale as the English and Irish seem to have a knack for.
Do you know, about a week or two ago I spotted a rather robust and alarmingly fast moving Koala clambering up a nearby tree. You might be onto something there, and possibly the sluggish usually drunk marsupials have evolved and bred fast Koala’s! I better watch out, or else.
Yeah, on a serious note, we’re digging trenches around the house, then backfilling them with cement. Neither rats, nor mice, will enjoy that outcome, although I will. Did another section today, but had a heap of paid work to do. I’m motivated to get this job done, but only have so many hours in each day. The rats / mice in the house frame are unfussed by the lack of exits, except they can’t escape and are consuming rat bait. Who will win this contest? At this stage I don’t really know. But they’re going hard the cheeky scamps.
Hehe! Yeah, the missed potatoes are a thing, but am glad to read that you’ve expanded your patch. It’s a pretty good idea. Anywhoo, that’s what the containers are for.
You’re in such a nice time of year, and hope the cherry tomatoes, peppers and chilli plants grow profusely. Oh yeah, the dogs are into new soil, yup.
I’ve no experience with a six week old pup, the Kelpies were about 12 weeks when they exploded into the household. But so much zest! Poor Dame Avalanche, for she got the high energy bit, and missed out on the later sound sleep the puppy would have enjoyed.
Ha! I get Dame Avalanche requiring some quiet time to recover. 🙂 Fun stuff.
Sounds like a fun day, and your weather reads like a remarkably pleasant experience. There are credible reports in the forecast tonight of a 1’C minimum at around 3am accompanied by possible light snowfall. What the heck? My brain hurts, and the wood fire ticks along. It’s dropped to 5’C, which is way too warm for snow.
Yikes! A very toxic extinguishing job, for who knows what materials are in such places? There’s been more than a few battery fires of late within the wider societal rubbish system. The small lithium chemistry batteries may have Cobalt in them, and when the case is punctured, thermal runaway becomes an issue. I noticed that the local tip has what looks like a bomb proof case to store batteries in. Very impressive looking.
Exactly! With such fuel resources, it’s better to store too much, and not need it, than run out when it’s needed.
Lovely plants forget me nots, and super hardy. Hope you get some fruit off the various trees.
A dude has gotta know when to slow down and take it easy. I go with that approach too from time to time and listen carefully to what the mind and body has to say on the matter. 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi kallianeira,
How did I miss this? 🙂 Thanks for mentioning the activity. And it may be worth sharing this down under delight with the US readers: Yabby racing in outback Australia!
I used to go Yabbying in the big man made drain which is Albert Park Lake in Melbourne. It hosts a Grand Prix you know, but I bet few of the visitors to that event would know of the lurking crustaceans.
Ah, I get that, and enjoying the tender annual rocket leaves, but that season is over so quickly, especially once hot weather arrives. There’s so many tasty things to plant and eat. How are you enjoying life in the country? I’d not be able to go back to the city now.
Interesting! I’ve not tested (or seen for sale) the dehydrating variety of rat and mouse bait. Mind you, I only bait them once they’re trapped under and inside the house frame, and never outdoors due to the ill effects on other species. Did a bit more work on the trenches and concrete today, but only have so many hours in the day, and paid work is the higher priority. I’m hoping that this latest incursion is the last for a long while.
Ah, here goes: Choking on Chooktopia. There are four posts to the webpage, and the photos are smaller, but it was all harvested from the former interwebsite over 11 years ago. There’s plenty of detail in the photos as to the construction, and the earlier June posts may show the excavations and concrete work. The place has changed so much since those days.
Ouch! And yes, the Fowlers bottles are unrepairable as far as I am aware. Although there may be folks who use a clear epoxy to reseal them, but there are risks to that. Out of curiosity, why did a coffee cup hit the Fowlers bottle? Was the coffee no good? 😉
Most of the white storm water PVC is very hardy and should enjoy a long lifespan. Agreed, shadecloth is much tougher than the plastic used on polytunnels. That stuff breaks. I’ve had better experiences with cable ties, and dunno why. I should mention that the cable ties are rarely placed under load, despite the claims to supporting such and such a large weight. And they aren’t installed so that there is any movement whatsoever.
Those are the flower colours for the Californian Poppies which seem to do well here too. Hmm. The Diggers Club sells many different varieties, and I purchased a large mixed bag of seeds from them, but they won’t grow until maybe next spring now.
It’s getting cold out there tonight, and the forecast suggests 1’C later tonight and snow down to 600m (we’re about 700m here). We’ll see, but right now it’s too warm for such wintry wonders at 5’C.
Glad to hear that you got some rain on Monday, but yes I was watering here last week too – which is so unusual for this time of year. Dunno what to make of it all.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
So many things to go wrong on a cruise ship, in such a small and confined space, but the vast majority of people would be fine, maybe. There are risk factors when getting sick on a cruise, although plenty of people walk around with those every day, and not think about the realities. I’d not been aware of the legionnaires disease in that setting and had always associated them with large commercial air conditioning systems (which when discovered get reported on in the media and then cleaned). And the history of the earliest incidents of the disease were not all that long ago. 1976 Philadelphia Legionnaires’ disease outbreak.
Whoa! The climate is a harsh mistress, and The Frost read like a horror story. The European environment can be remarkably unforgiving due to being so far north, in that if seasons go bad, things get dire and the human population there was always a bit boom and bust. It is of note that prior to the Black Plague, there had been two failed harvests. Weakened populations generally become susceptible to serious illnesses. You know, during the last big drought year down here which was 2019-2020 the grain export terminals had to be hurriedly converted to grain import terminals. Hmm. Crop failure due to climate is a real risk. And so many more folks have joined the fray down here in the years since then. And man, I recall when the city’s reservoirs made it into the mid-teen percentages, and that was even longer ago. I dunno man.
Crop failure due to lack of fertilisers, is also a very real risk. I heard on the radio today that the goobermint is having to cough up the mad cash for a gas to urea plant one of which was only shut down not all that long ago. It interests me that the land of stuff does the same trick, but with coal. We’d be wiser to go down that path, but who listens to me?
Mr King is very lucky that his ancestors were able to leave the Emerald Isle at around that time. I read that the Spanish were blockading the seas which stopped grain imports to the same island at that time. Mr Dafoe was very unflattering when it came to his thoughts on that people at around the same time.
Anywhoo, as a species we’re treating the atmosphere like a giant sewer, and who knows what impacts there will be? That hail storm in late February was new to me here, and I’d not seen such weather in almost two decades of experience. But then I can now grow citrus here, so who knows? And always have we had to take the good with the bad.
No way? I missed that famous axe! And you’ve inspired me to re-read the classic horror. 🙂 I’ll keep a reading ear open for that aspect of your journey.
77’F and 55’F sound so right to me! 🙂 By way of contrast, it’s 4’C / 39’F outside and the forecast suggests that snow may be a possibility in the wee hours of the morning. Will I be awake for this event? The rodents have been rather unwisely disturbing my sleep this past fortnight.
Agreed, lots of snow talk, not much action!
On that note, despite doing mostly paid work, the sun shone beautifully at lunchtime. So, we took a break and headed outdoors and did another little section of trench and concreting. Little baby steps, but each section which is done, makes it all that much harder for the rats and mice – who are now all trapped and karking it. It’s pretty nasty really baiting them, but what do you? They nibbled a tiny hole in a flour bag last night – small enough to be a nuisance, but not big enough they could have got in, like that box of oats.
Nice idea with the clear nail polish. I’d not have thought of that possibility for ceramic repairs. I’ll try a bit of clear epoxy resin next week. But first, deal with the rats and mice.
Go the potato vines! 🙂 Oh poop, the cheeky wood lice. We hates them! Yes, the land sharks have just one job, and hope they’re good at it. It’s a plan with them, but physical removal is a fine idea too.
On a pest front, for the first time aphids have appeared on the Green Mustard and also the Radish leaves. This has never happened to me before. What the heck? It’s possible the hail killed many of the small birds which would otherwise be bouncing through the garden beds all day long, thus why this is a new horrific experience. Hmm. I’ve also noticed that these were the garden beds which were fertilised with the trial of the seaweed and fish based fertiliser. Dunno what is going on. But I thinned the plants and removed attacked leaves. Hope they freeze tonight!
Wonder what the Master Gardeners will make of your question? The local gardening club sells a lot of different varieties, and I did trial a large bag of mixed seeds, so it’s all something of a mystery to me too.
🙂 Spinner racks. Yup remember those? My mother used to dump me near the spinner racks of pulp paperback books when I was a kid when she’d hit the supermarket. Better than dragging me around, and everyone was satisfied with the arrangement!
Yeah, smaller living spaces and in built furniture is killing that market. And I too recall the days when you brought your own cupboard along because nothing was in built. Far out, expectations and stuff these days…A nice touch with the linen panels too, gives it a bit of softness to the large item of furniture, but also a bit of class. Ah, you’ve asked the eternal question: Is melamine based massed produced furniture really worth saving?
Ha! Don’t you get a floral display growing for that particular celebratory day? The potatoes might not be ready, and some folks could be disappointed by the outcome.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Your Yabby look so much like our craw dads / cray fish. Are their pinchers, lethal? 🙂 I’ve mentioned I had an uncle, who had a farm, on the outskirts of Portland. With a creek. Lots of craw dads. We’d catch them with a stick, string, and piece of bacon fat. There was a family gathering one time, and there was a bucket of craw dads. One of my cousins was careless, and one of the beasts nailed her, in that fleshy part between thumb and forefinger. Wouldn’t let go. My uncles had to run and get a pair of pliers, to actually smash the shell, as, detaching it from the beast didn’t release the grip. The whole time my cousin is screaming blue murder. If they lose a claw, it will grow back.
You didn’t mention you had seen a koala. Who seem to be the rarest of the wildlife cast of characters, on your patch. Well, you’ve been distracted by mouse wars and building projects.
I picked up a book from the library, “A History of Horror Fear & The Uncanny.” 2026. It really doesn’t have an author, just a lot of editors. It comes from a publishing company, called DK, which seems to crank out a lot of books, on a lot of subjects, with no particular author. Sort of a group effort, I guess. Heck, the whole thing might be done by a I , for all I know. They’re big, gifty, and full of color pictures.
Anyway, it’s a look at the topic at hand, across cultures and centuries. There was a couple of pages on Australia. The committee thought that due to the lack of haunted gothic castles, the land itself became, or could become, a generator of creeping gothic horror. They mentioned a book, you might find interesting. “The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction.” (Clarke, 2007.)
They also had a side bar about Australian “ghost hoaxers.” In Victoria, no less. So, I took a tumble down the rabbit hole.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ghost-hoaxing
I well remember the 1976 Legionnaires Disease outbreak. It was such a mystery, for such a long time.
Yes, weather and lack of fertilizer, as you mentioned, are going to cause some huge problems. One must remember that famine, throughout history, is pretty much the default setting.
I made my monthly pilgrimage to Winco, last night. My bulk stores (rice / oatmeal), were pretty good, so, I concentrated on other things. Dawg now has an extra bag of food. I think the price is up. A 22 pound bag is pushing $40. It turned out the dried apricots, are cheaper from the bulk bins, than the yuppie discount store. $9.33 a pound vs $7.18 from Winco. I also picked up some dried bananas slices, to trial. Just in case. Hmmmm. I could probably dry my own, for less? They were $3.08 a pound.
I also picked up, probably a bag, of loss leaders for the Club pantry. I spent less than $20. I noticed they had the Jiffy brand corn bread mixes (in flavors!), for less than a dollar a box. I thought I’d trial them, in the pantry. We’ve talked about that family owned company, before.
I forgot to mention I got gas, the other night. $5.80 a US gallon, regular grade with 10% cash discount.
I finished watching King’s “The Shinning,” last night. It was well worth a look, but, I must say the acting wasn’t quit up to the standard of the original movie. And, forget the ax. In this version, King stayed true to his book. Havoc was deployed with a very large croquet mallet. 🙂
Our high yesterday was a comfortable 64F (17.77C). Our overnight low was 52F (11.11C). Our forecast high for today is 70F. Those will be the temperature ranges, for at least the next week.
The wood lice were at it again, last night. I knocked them down, again. They didn’t seem to do much damage, to the potatoes. I also caught a smallish slug, heading toward my rocket. R.I.P., slug. We don’t have too much problem with aphids, in our gardens. Probably due to the Lady Bugs, about. They do hit the current bushes hard, but it doesn’t hurt the fruit.
Linen panel carving was originally found in medieval churches. There was a revival of the motif, in the 1920s and 30s, in Britain. Mostly used on oak furniture.
I gave up on my Patriotic Petunia hanging basket, as, I felt the price of the plants was just getting too high. So, now the basket now has Vinca. Keeping it in the basket, I can still enjoy it, but not worry about its invasive qualities.
I mentioned to the fellow who tinkers with electronics that you were going to splurge a bit on some compositors. He made the comment the the higher priced ones, usually have copper elements in them.
In another story from the Club, one of the fellows has bought a fairly high end, portable air conditioner. He got it all set up, no problem. Where the problem arose, is when he went on line to record warranty information. The website would not recognize the model number. He tried every number he could find, on the machine, box and instructions. No dice. The instructions also said, if there was a problem, not to contact the seller (big box hardware store), and yet made it near impossible to contact the company. He’s going back to the store, anyway. might drive a man to drink. 🙂 The saga continues …. Lew
Chris:
Oh, my goodness. There is almost nothing the mice can’t get into, except those heavy duty plastic containers, or metal or glass. They seem able to get into every cupboard and drawer and closet, with only a few exceptions.
Whoopee! We had another .25 inches (6.4mm) of rain.
Actually, I like the good, old, comforting mac n cheese made with cheddar cheese better.
The bottle opener is a nifty little thing, but boy is it expensive.
Okay. Thank you for the advice.
I am taste testing apples right now, though this is not a good time of year to do it as there aren’t as many varieties in the stores. I am trying to decide which trees I might like to buy to go with a Pink Lady apple as a pollinator. The catch is that they have to bloom at the same time. I figured it couldn’t hurt to know what some varieties that I don’t know taste like, just in case. I like this Honey Crisp apple.
Pam
Chris,
I’ve got big shoulders Chris. I’ll take the blame. 😉
Yup. Good book. I read it when I was maybe 15 and had a good chuckle.
The very idea of a fast koala makes my head spin. That is akin to a rapid sloth, a speedy tortoise or a racing snail. It does rather make one wonder what koalas would be like if they weren’t either drunk or hungover all the time. I can see the headlines now” “Sober Koala Cures Cancer”, “Sober Koala Wins Olympic Marathon in Under an H” and things of that sort.
Well, you’re finding out the horrid truths about mice invasions. They only need the teeniest opening to squooze their bodies through and voila! into the pantry for another successful invasion. Just remembered a past experience at an in-law’s. The mice crept from the crawl space up the kitchen water pipes. Packing the area around the pipes with steel wool is the only thing that stopped that route.
Dame Avalanche is enjoying the new soil in the containers. Turn my back and she’s eating more soil. Now, of course, she is looking completely innocent while napping on the sofa.
Young neighbor helped me plant the seedlings today. First time she’s ever planted anything. Then we sowed the seeds. Never before had she seen carrot or squash seeds. All of the veggies have been planted or seeded.
I also scored some more succulents from another neighbor today. She grows several different kinds of succulents, gives some to Young Neighbor and me when they spread too much.
If my memory is correct, we got Rakhi the Samoyed when she was about 6 weeks old, maybe 8 weeks. Cheyenne the Finnish spitz was also about 8 weeks when we got her. Puppies are nearly tiny terrorists at that age.
I forgot to mention something from when the pup was with Dame Avalanche the other day. The pup went into wolf mode. She got hungry and began licking and nuzzling the Dame’s mouth, trying to coax a meal from the “mother wolf”. The Dame wasn’t the least bit amused, eventually letting loose with a series of deep and angry growls. Hungry Pup was undaunted and continued her efforts with no success. Just more growls.
You already have the “s” word in your weather forecast? Wow!
The wind was blowing from that automobile dump through this neighborhood. The stink was not pleasant. Fortunately, it was windy enough that it blew through fairly quickly. It’s a smell hope never to experience again.
More flowers today. The hawthorn trees are now blooming their customary bright pink. Our flowering crabapple barely had any blooms this year, so the pink hawthorns are a welcome sight.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
They’re a tough adversary, those mice. But! I’ve come up with a cunning plan. Once the concrete trenches are done on two sides of the house – maybe Saturday or Sunday, I’m going to train the mice to head to a certain location for a regular easy feed. They’ll get used to that, and then I’ll take them outdoors which will be in wee dark hours. The door will then be closed. And that will be that. I ain’t ‘fraid of no mouse, maybe… 🙂
The thing with my plan is that they have to be stopped from getting back into the house, and that’s the hard bit requiring lots of work in the meantime. And also losing much precious sleep. Ook! They tried getting the large store of rolled oats early this morning, and I was deeply annoyed. Oh well, the old timers used to say: A stitch in time, saves nine. And it is true.
Go the rain! And may you enjoy a nice even flow of water from the sky for the growing season.
Mac and cheese is not really a known meal down here, that I’m aware of. But like you, I prefer a good vintage cheddar (described as tasty cheese locally) over the squishier Gouda.
Pam, everything is expensive down under! When I read of the prices paid for things in your country, I’m equally amazed.
There are recipe purists, but just between you and I, these things aren’t cast in stone, and well, if what you’re doing is better for you, then why the big song and dance? Dunno, but that whole thing looks like a social game to me, but need we play? I think not.
Ha! You’re at the wrong end of the season for apples, but then, the storage potential is of some importance too. An interesting choice, and I’ve never encountered that variety. Word on the street is that it’s a tree demanding some attention and yields and storage aren’t all that great. Still, for fresh eating, they’re meant to be very good tasting indeed. What’s your thinking about the variety?
It was 33’F early this morning at about 5am, but no snow. That fell a bit further east where the storm hit hardest. Personally I could live without such sudden cold snaps. It was a cold day otherwise, and perfect weather for paid work, all day long.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Very good to hear about the shoulders, and the adventurous tomb raider would find such natural abilities to be an advantage. 🙂
There’s something quite enjoyable about absurdist literature. It can poke fun at more serious subjects without ruffling too many feathers. Although, Monty Python and The Life of Brian film was banned in many places. Probably an excellent marketing strategy?
An athletic Koala clambering up a tree is something to see. Unfortunately I was busting to get home so I could go to the loo, and that urgent preoccupation took the higher priority to that of filming the local wildlife. I’d be almost certain that wars have been lost due to inattention because of such natural functions. King Harold, just sayin… That anecdote was written in the unofficial historical literature relating to the year 1066.
You’re not wrong about their surliness, and how anything can survive on a diet of toxic eucalyptus leaves and no additional drinking water is a mystery to me. The oil from the leaves is used as a cleaning agent, it’s tough. I believe that the word ‘Koala’ roughly means ‘no drink’ or ‘no water’, in an Indigenous language.
How did a brief read upon the subject of Koala’s, lead to a deep dive on the Permian–Triassic extinction event? Guess we’ll never know, but it did!
Yeah, I spotted the mouse this morning at 5am. We’d moved the oats and flour stores to what was presumed to be a safe spot. The little rodent could however climb up the back of that piece of furniture in a tiny gap and gain access to the stores – which were then moved to the dinner table before any serious damage occurred.
By Saturday or Sunday, the house firewall will be better sealed with cement, and the plan is to train the mouse, then lead it outdoors – then close the door. It’s a good plan, and may even work due to the inherent simplicity.
Things could be worse though: Worst-ever mouse plague in Morawa, WA, leaves streets covered in mice. WA in this instance refers to the very large state of Western Australia. My issues pale into insignificance.
The Editor was suggesting that exact issue with the kitchen drains this morning, and wanted me to get involved. But alas paid work takes precedence. And sure enough, after a quick look, the plumbers cut a larger than necessary pipe through the timber hardwood floors. Easy for them, and the mice. I’ll use plywood to do that trick.
Surely Dame Avalanche is innocent of such garden mischief? The proper word to describe a canine looking blameless whilst napping on the sofa is: Full. 🙂
No way! Getting one’s hands dirty and forging a personal relationship to plants, is a good step on the path of the lifelong gardener.
Go the succulents! And may they thrive in the arid conditions, as they will.
I’ll take yours and Lewis’s word for the terror that puppies younger than 12 weeks can be, as I’ve no experience with them. Despite the many dramas, the two Kelpies at 12 weeks were a true delight. I’d not quite realised how quiet the house had become. Ollie was the youngest dog at that stage, and he desperately wanted to fit in, and so caused minimal hassles. The Kelpies have not known hardship, and Ruby is somewhat expectational. There is a deep lesson in there.
Hehe! I can see that, puppies can’t be what the old timers used to describe as wall flowers. A few growls mean nothing to such base self interest. 🙂 And man, back in 2020, the two pups used to hang off Ollie’s face. I thought that they’d injure him or permanently stretch his jowls, but no, and he took it all in his stride.
Oh yeah, at 5am when dealing with mice, the weather station reported that the outdoor temperature was 0.8’C. No snow here, but a 100km to the east and further than that, was a whole different story. A good dump of snow fell in many parts of the more elevated locations in the state. Brr! Today felt freezing.
That’s not good, and hope you cracked out the air filter machine to deal with the big dump stink? I hear you about that – industrial fires are often very toxic.
Odd about the crab apple, but who knows what is going on with the tree? The hawthorns are super hardy, and we have white flowering varieties down here as well. They used to be considered a fence which you could grow, for good and proper reasons.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
The pincers aren’t too bad. They’ll give you a proper nip, but hardly take your finger off! That story suggests a decent way for a person to learn to keep the pincers pointed away from their body. Look at this crawdad – this is the tail end, and that is the bite end. Now, make sure you know the difference before handling them! Hehe!
Some breed of dogs jaws can lock on a bite, and be almost impossible to release. This next bit is serious, the dog obedience school had that very thing happen – the Editor and Dame Plum were not involved – it was two other dogs having a fight. One was much bigger than the other. So to get the dog to release the jaw, one of the trainers stuck his finger rudely up the dogs rear. Sure enough, the dog released straight away. The bit dog ended up at the vet, whilst the aggressor never returned. Such knowledge may come in handy one day, you never know.
Who knew? Yabbies are the same and can apparently regrow legs as well as the pincers. I still bet it would hurt losing a pincer.
Yeah, I forgot to mention the koala, and probably could have stopped to get some awesome footage. It was just around the corner, but nature was calling, and I had to go man, bad. The neighbours would have a fit if they caught me having a wee on the side of the road whilst filming a koala.You’d never hear the end of it, and despite all my good works, I’d end up being known for that one moment of craziness. Best not to feed the rural rumour mill by never doing such a thing. So the memory of the koala encounter faded. It was a big and healthy looking critter.
Your larger point is valid, and the mice have been interrupting my sleep for a fortnight now. This morning was no exception, and one had climbed between a narrow gap at the back of a piece of furniture and the wall to clamber up to where the oats, grains and flour had been presumably safely stored. We moved the lot to the dinner table, and that is a safer choice.
I’m planning an unanticipated move with the rodents. Taking a leaf from the holy book of the Pied Piper, chapter four, verse nine, I’m going to train these rodents. And then lead them outside before closing the door on their return. Are they dumb enough to fall for the trick, I’d say yeah. What do you think, has the plan got legs?
Before doing this, I’ll have to further seal up the house fire wall.
At 5am this morning – in the dark – the outdoor thermometer recorded 0.8’C / 33’F. Cold enough to snow, but the storm tracked way further east than this mountain range. Cold blast in Victoria brings snow to alpine peaks a month out from ski season opening. No snow here, sadly.
The book has a really lovely suitable looking cover. Interesting, no author was attributed. What the heck? Went to have a look at the publishers interweb thing, and many of the books there aren’t advertised with an author. Hopefully it wasn’t arty-fish-al-ee written? That would feel slightly weird to me. Fingers crossed that it was a number of authors. Any further details inside on the first page or so?
It’s an intriguing prediction regarding the creeping horror, but who knows? Thanks for mentioning the anthology, and I’d not come across it before. The blurb suggested something interesting: the dark underside to the usual story of colonial progress. In some ways the vibe of the Overland Hotel reflected the vast distances and isolation down here as well – once a person leaves the warm confines of the few urban areas that is.
Where was this amusing side story presented during Australian history studies? No sense of adventure. I like how the mob in the article beat the ghost hoaxer whilst brandishing a revolver, as distinct to relinquishing the bloke to the far slower wheels of justice! You could say that justice was served in that instance. The miscreants primary fault was that he got caught. And what a hoot! The middle class was letting rip, and pinning the blame elsewhere on people didn’t have the time and who had to work. I’d suggest the possible answer there, was that they were bored and out for mischief.
The outbreak was pretty bad, and the mortality rate was not encouraging. But the incident did result in change, particularly to commercial air conditioners.
I’d not thought of history that way, but agreed, there are no certainties, and decent harvests which can be counted upon, fall under that banner. Always was it thus in western cultures.
It baffles the mind to consider that dawg food is cheaper down here. Glad to hear that your stores are filling up, and that stuff has a long life span. What’s your opinion on the dried banana slices? The electricity could add up for dehydrating bananas. We tried some grapes in the machine, and it took 3 days. They were good, but probably not worth the effort.
They sound pretty nice, and any recipe unchanged for that long, like the cornbread, is probably as good as it’ll get.
Holy carp! How is petrol more expensive in your part of the world? Hmm. On an economics front, official interest rates were lifted yesterday due to inflation fears and goobermint expansionary money supply problems. Sorry to say it, but this outcome was baked into the cake way long ago, and here we are today. It’s not pretty.
Say what you will, but Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall sure can act. A croquet mallet sounds like a war hammer, and probably produce a similar outcome. The protagonist was a complicated bloke fighting his demons, and I read further about Mr King’s stay at the Stanley hotel. That would have been super creepy.
Your weather sounds lovely and warm. The wood fire has been cranking all day.
Those rotten wood lice. Take that! And that too! Things eat potato leaves, which is a bit disconcerting, but then everything eats something. I’ve never had problems with aphids before either, and will have to put my thinking cap on. They were even on the wild mustard plants growing in the garden beds, although not in as large a number.
Ah, yeah, you have a soft spot for the Art Deco, and the stuff is generally very well made.
Oh, that’s right, I’d forgotten about the vinca in that pot.
🙂 You can see the quality difference in the specification sheets for the components. The more expensive ones generally can operate at higher temperatures for almost twice the total hours. And the price isn’t that much more, but if someone was offloading this gear as fixed up for profit, who’s to know the difference? And that story would be playing out across all electronics. It’d take years for the results to play out. That’s the world we live in now.
Ook! That air conditioning saga, is the stuff of nightmares. I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that with the next washing machine, I’ll do a deep dive to see what is DIY repairable and will last. Let’s just say that I have some suspicions about the current Germun made one.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I meant to mention removing jar lids. I generally turn the jar, as I’m tapping the side of the lid, against the kitchen counter (bench?) edge. Gently. If the lid doesn’t release on the first go, I give it a second go-around, a bit harder. Peanut butter and pickle jars seem the worst. I think that stuff if vacuum packed. Of course, you don’t have to worry about the peanut butter jars, as you make your own. 🙂
A good reason not to stop and get pictures of the koala. You wouldn’t want to startle the natives. You’re young, but this might be a good point to bring up the dreaded O.M.B. (Old Man’s Bladder.) I wish I would have started those Kegel exercises, when I was younger. 🙂 Sometimes, when I’m working in the garden, it’s a choice of trudging all the way back up to my apartment, or, using the public loo on the first floor. Neither appeals. But it would just be too risky, to “water the rhodies.” As with your rural situation, here at the Institution, I’d never hear the end of it. Seems like every week, in our newspaper police reports, some poor guy gets arrested for “indecent exposure.” I often wonder how many of those situations were just guys looking for a place to take an unobserved wee.
The Pied Piper Maneuver in the Mouse Wars? Might work. Worth a try.
That was quit an article about your snowfall. The pictures were great. Now, that’s proper snow. 🙂 Our high yesterday was 63F (17.22C). Our overnight low was 46F (7.77C). Our forecast high for today is 70F.
The DK publishers and copyright information, was in the back of the book, which happens from time to time. I don’t know why. Just a long list of editors, in different parts of the world. The illustrations on the couple of pages of Australian horror, were interesting. Of course, the almost mandatory still from the “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” movie. And a painting. “The Drover’s Wife.”
https://w.wiki/MqiT
I followed the link to the artist. Interesting fellow. I’ll have to take a look at more of his work.
Who knew? Apparently, the cruise ship Hanta virus is a variety that can be passed from person to person. No mouse wee needed.
I could probably pay less for H’s dog food, but, it’s the brand that she’s always had. She likes it, and it seems to be keeping her healthy. I must also say that the variety of dog foods, here, are mind boggling. No matter if it’s a feed store, or, the grocer, there’s usually an entire side of an aisle devoted to dog food.
I haven’t tried the dried banana, yet. Maybe today. I think I had some a long time ago, and found them a bit overly sweet. We’ll see.
Early on in the miniseries, the guests at the Overlook Hotel are playing “Texas Croquet.” As everything is bigger in Texas, the mallets, balls and hoops are twice normal size. King might have seen such a set, somewhere along the way.
Well, if I follow planting by the moon, I should be putting in some root crops, over the next week. I’m also trying to figure out companion planting. Given my limited space, and, with an eye to possible later crop rotation, it’s looking very complicated, if not just downright impossible. I’ll figure something out.
Your mention of a Germun bit of kit, reminded me of an ongoing subplot, in The Australian (now, apparently, New Zealand) mystery series, “My Life is Murder.” Our heroine (Lucy Lawless) has retired from a police department, and has a side gig / hobby of baking bread. And selling it to a nearby coffee shop. She has a Germun made bread machine, which gives her occasional fits. She spends a lot of time on the phone, talking to the manufacturer.
I started watching season one of “True Blood.” I’d seen it, as it came out, season by season. But, have decided to watch the whole thing, in close order. I’d forgotten all the interesting characters. I watched the first two episodes last night, and the third beckoned. But I showed moral fortitude and went to bed. 🙂 Lew
Chris:
It sounds like an ingenious mouse plan, Chris. Be sure to put out some chocolate candy bars; they love those. When we had mice, we had left some out on the kitchen bench. They were to be sold for some charity event. Mice tasted all of them and I had to buy them all. That was early in our mouse adventure. I have remembered Little Mad Dog’s father, Gomez (he looked just like John Astin in The Addams Family TV series). Gomez was so bold that he would run up on the kitchen bench while I was cooking and steal something. I once watched him drag a piece of toast away. He would also visit someone sitting down and eating a meal. He came up to my son’s plate and took a tostado and ate it right there. My son just watched him, so Gomez took another one and ate it. Isn’t Mother Nature wonderful?
So there was a too-big hole around a kitchen pipe? Clever thinking of the Editor.
I haven’t delved into the habits of Honey Crisp apples yet, but I certainly like the flavor. When they mature would matter as I would like the varieties staggered.
I worked outside today, but twice I got rained on. The total, over the day, was still only .25 inches. I’ll bet you don’t have to put string tied to tomato stakes around potato plants – corralled, in fact – because they are growing in a goofy bed with black plastic and so sprawl onto the garden paths. The garden boss says it must be so, and I worked on it till I got rained on. While working on this, my ball of string got away from me and rolled way down the hill, unfurling into the mud.
You are cold! Here it is cool. I am waiting for it to warm up so I can plant your favorite – sweet potatoes!
Pam
Hi Pam,
Thanks for the suggestion with the chocolate, and yes those charity sales were a bit of a thing many years ago. The suspicious mind wonders if the rodents weren’t in cahoots with the charity? Mother nature sure is wonderful, and the mice are astounding me by their brazen behaviour. Still, I carry a big stick in the form of a plastic fly swatter. Those things are useful-as, and the mousies are rightfully nervous.
As an update, activity last night was down, but not out. Tomorrow I’ll continue with the trenches and concreting, and fingers crossed this will be it for a long while. The plants and garden are sadly being neglected whilst the rodents cause mischief and eat my energy! The cheeky scamps…
Yeah, the hole was exactly as you described. Hmm. Plumbers probably have different concerns to that of home owners in this regard. Thanks for mentioning the possibility. It’s a case of great minds think alike! And tell ya what, it’s the things which you don’t think about which cause you to come unstuck.
I get that, and home grown apples tend to ripen on the tree over a longer period of time than commercial orchards. Those trees are molly coddled, and hey, who can do that? It only takes a few apple trees to have a home harvest spanning a few months. Although we get possums here, both varieties, parrots, rats etc… Do squirrels eat apples? If the trees don’t touch one another, guards over the trunk may stop the squirrels from climbing into the canopy? Dunno.
🙂 Getting rained on during an otherwise dry season is a small price to pay for that precious stuff out of the sky! You bet correctly, and I let the potato vines sprawl and do what they will. Oh poop! Is the string recoverable from the mud?
Yup, still cold and gloomy here today. A cool change for you is no bad thing and something of a relief from the recent warmth. Us gardeners have to take the good with the bad, don’t they?
Hope the sweet potato harvest works out well, but I won’t be indulging. 🙂 I reckon the soils are too cold here on average for the tubers to grow well anyway. I know of people in the big smoke growing them, but it is warmer there.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Pam mentioned a similar technique to yours with jars that I’d never heard of before. All of the glass bottles get washed and re-used, so I can’t really afford to damage them. But then, I’ve got two of those opener tools and they work well enough, particularly with the tightly sealed ones. Most of the home made jam seals that hard. Freshly made peanut butter is a delight, but err, need a second greenhouse. 🙂
Yeah, that’s it exactly. Standards are such and have to be maintained! Incidentally, I read that during you-know-what, an interesting statistic was released about the capital of old blimey. Apparently there is one public toilet in the city for every 11,000 people. That’s just not cricket!
Up the bush you see people doing just that by the side of the road, but always they’re from elsewhere and probably thought that the dirt roads would be less busy than they are. They generally hide behind their open car doors, as if nobody knew what was going on. Free fertiliser really. One of the benefits of travelling to third world countries, is that in some parts of the world, the side walk is often treated as a urinal, and ladies wear dresses so that they can simply squat and do what is needed. I’m not endorsing any of that, mostly because a society should be wealthy enough not to waste the cheap fertiliser. Like those old Japanese farmers of yore.
Well, the bold move on my part with the mice, might just work! Have to finish off the concrete trenches first. As an update, the mouse activity was much reduced last night, so the special feed may be paying off? It’ll probably end in a bad stink.
Only slightly warmer here today, and I’m frankly envious of your 63’F. Right now, it’s closer to the 46’F outdoors, and looks remarkably damp.
The The Drover’s Wife painting looks like a parody, and city persons perspective on life in the bush. It’s full of abstract symbolism and judgement. The painter Frederick McCubbin lived in a house on the northern and more sunnier side of the range, and his take on the bush is perhaps more realistic: On the wallaby track – 1896
But yeah, the painter was an interesting dude.
That’s the thing with the South American variant of the disease, I believe it can be transmitted person to person. Not a ship you’d want docked, but that appears to be happening. Man, it’s like you’ve remarked upon, you go places, and take your chances. I’ve been astoundingly ill when in foreign countries. Turns a holiday, into an ordeal.
Dogs don’t enjoy changes to their diet anyway, so swapping for a cheaper brand, will be a lot of hassle and upset. Not worth the trouble if you ask me. It’s like the fish oil tablets, they had to be introduced to the dogs feed slowly.
Say, that’s a lot of dog food! The shelf space down here dedicated to the feed, is not at the entire aisle stage. More a small section. Dunno, but sometimes I get the impression that supermarkets switched to using their aisles as a warehouse many years ago. Presumably there is some psychology to it all, and may even provide a feeling of abundance?
Less taste buds in these more enlightened days? 🙂 I get that! Interestingly, I felt that the grapes we dehydrated as an experiment, were too sweet also.
Like those horrendous Texan cockroaches. Far out, them is huge! 🙂 Hehe! Probably why the croquet mallets were bigger? There’s a certain logic to that.
Companion planting does my head in, and nowadays I just prefer simpler planting arrangements. But yeah, limited space can force your hand. Now you may laugh, but I’d like some extra space for growing edibles. And will probably do that sooner or later.
Tell ya what. The mice have soaked up a fair chunk of my free mental and physical energy these past two weeks. I am not a fan, and they are experiencing my extreme displeasure.
Ha! I’m hardly surprised. Sometimes the edicts which come out of the UE (!) seem a touch heavy handed. Like the naming of certain products etc. They’ve even tried to flex their muscle down here with the use of the Parmesan name. Have they nothing better to worry about? I can think of a few things they should be getting onto, but I doubt those fat cats would be interested by my opinions! Anywhoo, the machines from Germuny appear designed to only be repaired by the manufacturer and DIY need not apply. I will never buy that brand again, for that reason alone. And the machine is sadly on its way out. Nice for them. The heroine has my sympathy, but then I use old school baking tins. If not work, then go back one step to when it done before! 🙂 Wisdom, of the finest sort.
Ah sadly, sleep does intrude upon a good story. We’ve all been there! And, I too enjoyed the first season or two, and will be interested to hear your opinion of the latter seasons. The same folks which made the astounding: Six Feet Under, were behind that vampire business (I believe).
Cheers and gotta head out into the rain!
Chris
Chris,
Raid tombs? Not I. No desire whatsoever to see what lurks within those walls. No. Not a bit of curiosity about that.
Banned? Oh yes, good marketing strategy. Remember that Louie Louie by the Kingsmen was banned from some radio stations and investigated by the FBI for allegedly lewd language. Results of the investigation were that no words could be understood, so no conclusion regarding lewd language. Interestingly, about one minute into the song, one of the band members clearly yells “f$@&”, the only clearly understandable word in that version of the song. And the FBI missed it! Bwahaha!
Then there’s this song. Apparently, this instrumental was banned from many USA radio stations because the way he made the guitar sound was just, well, “a dirty noise”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpI1ajWXinI&list=RDf6xAz272S5I&index=5
Hmmmm, stop to film the elusive athletic koala, or do what needs to be done. I understand that dilemma and would’ve made the same decision. Ya know, Harold Godwineson was familiar with that part of England. Probably had a house nearby, so being in a hurry to get to the loo just might possibly explain his “wee” mistake in battling the invading Normans at less than full strength.
So the koalas evolved getting total sustenance, including liquid, from eating a toxic diet. Under the category of “You are what you eat”, wouldn’t that make koalas themselves toxic? Imagine how extremely toxic the relationships between and among toxic koalas would be.
I was reading something about Custer and his demise at the Little Big Horn recently. Looked up something about one of his officers. Which led to this, then that and then the other, eventually something else. I found myself reading about the Pechenegs and their squabbles with both the Rus and the Byzantine Empire. Never know where those rabbit holes will lead. For example, satire from the Onion:
https://theonion.com/archaeologists-uncover-separate-team-of-archaeologists-1846096402/
Good luck with the mouse. I hope your cunning plan works. I like Pam’s idea of using chocolate to lead the (hopefully) unsuspecting mouse out. Plywood should work when installed at the pipes. I know from personal experience that steel wool works.
Oh, those people in Morawa have it rough. Very nasty. They might need to call in a strategic napalm strike to burn out all the mice.
Interestingly, there is a Moraga, CA, my brain originally defaulting to that, which made no sense. Then I realized you were talking about Western Australia. Once I got on board, I remembered that we have Walla Walla Washington while you have Wagga Wagga.
Sorry to burst your balloon but the Dame enjoys eating some of the good quality soil. She doesn’t care if it’s bought from the nursery or if it comes from the compost pile. If dirt smells worth eating, she’ll eat it.
The terrorism of the very young puppies is that they demand to be part of everything. Relentless about it, they are. Their young minds know only one word: “Me!” Play with Me! Feed Me! Watch Me play in my drinking water and spill it all! Give Me a drink! And so forth. Then suddenly, the puppy will fall asleep. Just when the remainder of the household begins to relax, the Me Mobile awakens full of renewed youthful zest and innocence, the cycle beginning again.
Killian the Red had the correct idea with Dame Avalanche when she was 6 months or so old. When he got tired of her, he simply put his giant mouth around her head and slobbered all over her. That calmed her down long enough for him to get in a quick snooze. It was rather disconcerting to observe the first time, though.
Okay, no snow for Chris. Just an awakening at an ungodly hour, with it dark, only to hasten outside to work in the cold. I feel that pain. Funny how getting up early, in the dark, going out in the cold for a Required Task feels like an insult added to injury. Yet, whenever I got up at some ungodly dark and cold hour to go hunting or fishing or skiing, well, that was just fun and fine and dandy. Well, just so long as nobody talked to me until I had some coffee in my belly. 😉
The house was buttoned up tight before the Dame and I went for our walk, so the nasty smoke had no chance entering the house. We got stuck walking in it for a few minutes, but the wind blew it through the area very rapidly.
That crab apple tree does this sometimes. I probably need to trim it a lot this summer. That might be one of the next projects. It definitely needs trimming.
DJSpo
Yo, Chris – This just in … peaches bite the dust!
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/california-farmers-must-destroy-420-202332529.html
I only use the tap, tap method on commercial jars. My jam jars, well, they’re the ring with the flat lid. I’ve never had a problem getting the ring off (which gets reused), but the flat lid .. well, there’s a funny hook thing on my can opener, and I can carefully lift the lid enough to break the seal. The flat lids don’t get reused.
In lots of places in the world, even Europe, weeing in public is no big deal. Although the more fastidious turn their backs to the crowd or road 🙂 .
No arguments, the mice take a physical and mental toll. Never mind the expense. I hate it when you’ve (I’ve) got better things to do, and something like this comes out of left field. “Life on life’s terms,” I guess.
Our high yesterday was 66F (18.88C). Our overnight low was 46F (7.77C). Our forecast high for today is 68F. Prof. Mass has a post on “June gloom.” Something I’d forgotten about. It’s often overcast, these days. And will be for awhile. But the temperatures are soooo nice!
I’m going to put on my art historian (unlicensed) hat here. 🙂 McCubbin does nice paintings. Very pretty. Definite French Impressionist influences. And, I do prefer a more realistic approach to painting. But Drysdale …
I think his paintings tap a regionalist vein. As American Regionalism, but Australian. You never know what an artist has seen, to influence him, but his landscapes remind me of Georgia O’Keefe’s SW landscapes. The colors are similar. His town scapes smack of Cezanne.
A lot of his figures are very elongated. Reminiscent of Modigliani or El Greco. Maybe even the sculptures of Giacometti. It’s been speculated that El Greco’s figures were due to eye problems. Drysdale also had some pretty serious eye problems. On the other hand, “The Drover’s Wife,” is a departure, from his usual figures. To me, she really looks, “of the land.” As solid and immovable as Uluru. LOL. So much for my curbside analysis.
The last headline I saw about the Hanta virus, was that they’re doing contact tracing through 12 countries and five of our states. And turning up cases, here and there. Luckily, the stuff doesn’t seem to be too transmissible. But it’s a case study, almost, of how fast things can spread in our connected world. And how far it can go.
I tried some banana chips, with my usual oatmeal and fruit. They were tasty, very crisp, and didn’t strike me as overly sweet. I did a look down the rabbit hole, and saw this …
https://tableandspoon.com/are-dried-banana-chips-healthy-for-you/
I’ll probably keep some of the commercial stuff around, just in case I can’t source fresh bananas. At some point. I might try drying some, myself, eventually. But home dried don’t seem to keep, as long as the commercial ones.
What with the “right to repair” movement, gaining momentum in the US, I wondered if something similar was going on in the EU. Yes, and right now.
“The European Union’s Right to Repair Directive, adopted in June 2024 and set to be implemented by July 2026, aims to promote sustainable consumption by making it easier and more affordable for consumers to repair their goods. This directive requires manufacturers of many household appliances to provide faster and more affordable repairs, offer spare parts and tools at reasonable prices, and extend warranties under certain conditions.”
Yes, “True Blood” and “Six Feet Under,” were efforts of pretty much the same crew. Gosh, TV was so good, back in the ” ol’ days.” 🙂
We got a food box, the other day. Commodities. There was a lot of stuff, but what was interesting was what was missing. No usual jar of peanut butter. No dried beans. Other than one small tin of cream of chicken soup, no soups, stews or chili.
There was a pound each, of frozen ground pork and beef. A dozen eggs. I was going to take them to the Club, and discovered they’re brown free range. I’ll keep those. Other meat was three large (12 oz) of tuna.
There was produce. Two very sad bunches of some kind of greens, and a bunch of broccoli, that was so far gone it was flowering. Into the garden they’ll go. 5 pounds of potatoes, two green peppers, two oranges, two small zucchini, two oranges and one yellow onion. A one pound bag of shelled pecans.
The rest was the usual suspects. Two boxes of rice cereal with two quarts of shelf stable milk. A two quart jug of apple / cherry juice. A Two pound brick of the cheese that won’t melt. But also, a one pound brick of pretty good sharp cheddar. A pound of butter. Three one pound bags of white rice. The tins were all the veg and fruit usual, the only surprise being a tin of unsweetened coconut milk. Three bottles of Ensure, the old folks nutritional drink.
Well, the big news is … the Club has to move by the end of June. We’ve been kicked to the curb. 🙂 The only “reason” I’ve heard, is that they want the space to expand the business. But who knows. So now the scramble is on, to find us new digs. Always a problem, as there’s so few commercial properties that meet our needs. At a price we can afford.
We’ve been here before, over 41 years. The word is out, and the scramble has begun. I heard there’s already two possibles, but it’s early days. Not that we have that many days to get it together. Lew
Chris:
Oh my goodness. Now I have a vision of you padding through the house like a tiger, but with a plastic fly swatter. If you manage to hit one, I bet that’s a world record.
Of course squirrels eat apples. I don’t know how closely the trees will be planted, but a trunk guard is a good idea. Thanks. Occasionally those sort of things work on a bird feeder on a pole.
Since it is just garden string (well, it is now) the string is still usable.
“In some parts of the world, the side walk is often treated as a urinal, and ladies wear dresses so that they can simply squat and do what is needed” – I expect that is where a lot of disease comes from. You’re right about it being wasted fertilizer, though. Didn’t some towns in Europe of old used to collect that stuff from where it was collected at people’s homes?
Pam
Hi Pam,
🙂 I appreciate the tiger comparison, but truly the size difference is so vast, and the little blighters are so speedy Gonzalez personified (remember that cartoon character?) that I’m more like a shambling elephant. Mind you, twice now I’ve cornered the fearsome beast (AKA mouseykins) and hadn’t thought far enough ahead to have a swat ready to hand. Now I am ready, which kind of sounds a bit like Dirty Harry don’t you reckon?
Another small section of the house external firewall was trenched and concreted today. It’s a slow process because the dug soil has to go somewhere where it will do some good. The large-ish rocks we used to thwart the rats have to also go elsewhere (useful too, you’ll see!), and today I had to dig underneath a set of steel stairs. Basically, it’s a slow and steady project with lots of different aspects.
But trust me in this, my mind is made up, the personal energy levels are good, and this is the last time those dratted rodents get into the house frame for at least a few years. Big talk yes, but one has to occasionally reach for the stars! I get the impression that with the many upgrades and improvements at your place, you too are experiencing such change?
Oh, that’s a good idea for the bird feeders on poles, otherwise your squirrels would be even happier than they are. The rats here fill the same niche, and have no troubles climbing fruit trees and enjoying their share. I’ve no problems with that, and the orchards are open to the wildlife. The trick I’m finding with that approach so as to also produce enough for our needs, is to balance out the number and variety of forest critters. The winter months set the ultimate upper limit for their populations, but if the cheeky rascals can nab chicken feed, or get into the house, their numbers explode. And that’s ultimately no good for anyone. See, everything in moderation, although I sound a bit like the fun-police with that response?
Hehe! Sure is a garden string now having encountered the mud. Yesterday I brought back the corrugated steel for the cantina shed wall, and it was held down on the trailer by three nylon truckers ratchet straps. Alas the sharp edges of the steel sheets cut through one of the straps, so yeah, damage, err, happens! 🙂 I was mildly alarmed to think back on the drive home with the city slicker (the SUV was spotless) tailgaiting the trailer. Oh well.
Exactly, and with that third world adventure, trust me, I lack the confidence to err, do the when in Rome thing on the side walk. Oh my goodness, but adventures in rough-as-bags cultures can be an eye opener that’s for sure. The city of Melbourne was one of the first to construct large scale sewers and a massive treatment plant in the cities south west way back in the late 19th century. Cholera and Typhoid are long forgotten diseases which never really went away. The hill station retreats for the wealthy folks on the more fashionable western end of the range was another practical response to disease.
That sounds correct to me, urine was long used in the manufacturing of woollen garments, plus may have also produced saltpeter (in your part of the world too). We live in a remarkably wasteful time, which is odd really because they use natural gas now to produce urea, which is kind of the same end product.
Went to see a gig last night in a country town about an hours drive north of here. Had a very lovely evening too. More on this story to come…
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris.
>How are you enjoying life in the country?
Pluses and minuses. Two things I love about this town are: no traffic lights, no speed humps.
Minuses: numerous, one of which that it is utterly xenophobic. Longtime residents’ favourite binary is the (illegitimate, of course) distinction between “local” and “not local”. Makes me think uncomfortably of The League Of Gentlemen.
>here goes: Choking on Chooktopia.
Thank you very much. Is it all right if I share it with another chook keeper who is having rodent trouble?
The coffee was fine. It was a case of post-coffital slip. Perhaps I should have made another before trying to wash up. Perhaps I should have avoided a high risk activity like washing dishes altogether.
>cable ties are rarely placed under load, despite the claims to supporting such and such a large weight
Hmm. So maybe I am abusing the intended use. They hold the shadecloth to the trellis and the bits of plastic remaining of the hoophouse to its frame after the supplied ties broke off. I need to try something simple like string, hemp twine, old fashioned methods which might work better.
Best of luck with the mouse luring tactic. Do you mean you plan to block all escape routes except the house door and then wait there in the wintry night until it leaves? What do the dogs do when you are engaged in such nocturnal activities?
kallianeira
Hi DJ,
My thinking as well, although the entire field of archaeology has a little bit of the tomb raider side to it, dressed up in the staid and sometimes respectable clothing of academia. But we know their true colours! Such mysteries are usually harmless, but then again, maybe they’re not. Hmm.
Oh yeah, Louie, Louie, good stuff! The FBU, if I may care to hazard an opinion, possibly listened to the recording one too many times, and acknowledged the harmless genius of the lyrics and melody, then threw caution to the winds by overlooking the clearly audible f-bomb. Truly, that precision swearing is part of the fun of the song. But no doubts Loki came down to Georgia that day, and the force knew they’d been beat, so they caved. 🙂
Speaking of Loki, encountered him again last night. So I still remember the day long ago, when we sat out in the beer garden consuming gourmet pies, and the trickster dropped by as well to sample the goods. He was wearing a terry towelling bucket hat, which looked pretty cool – no arguing with that fact. Having finished our lamb and rosemary baked delights, admiring the too-cool hat, a wind gust out of nowhere blew the cardboard plates into our faces. The kind of thing that God would do, don’t you reckon?
You don’t see bucket hats often. Anywhoo, went to a gig last night in a country town about an hours drive north of here (more about this in the future), and the sound engineer was wearing one such hat pulled low almost down to his eyeballs. Looked serious, and having learned my earlier lesson, there was respect for coolness, but also the wariness of not bringing undue attention. Who knew that Loki had a day, err, night job as a sound engineer? Guess Valhalla has bills too?
Rumble is a great bit of music, and if I may, he kind of blends blues and metal, in a 1960’s kind of way. Link looks mighty pleased with himself too. I reckon he’s chewing the gum to maintain timing.
Oh you’re cheeky with that slip of the name for Harold! It’s a joke which demands telling though. And perhaps another explanation was that he was in a hurry to rescue a maid, or maybe two, in distress? Being the King and all, well, in those days, who knows what he was up to! Very funny too with the wee mistake. 🙂 Thanks for the laughs.
The marsupials do seem to sleep a lot. Hey, they may get around that plus the bad attitude by having what the old timers used to impolitely describe as ‘beer goggles’, whatever that means.
Exactly, sometimes this ‘ere imfo-mation (!) super highway, can go places. The Onion story was pretty funny, and plausible. Someone needs to feed such absurdity into the art-fish-al machines, so the output can be far more wrong, but oh so entertaining!
Thanks for the confirmation of the plywood, and I’m down to one, or maybe two mice. They’re like the Borg and are adapting, but shields in the first place are the better defence. Another section of the wall was trenched and concreted today. Awful weather.
Yeah, that’s a grain growing area, and they probably need to plant some trees so that there are more owls with which to deal with the pesky rodents.
Walla Walla sounds like it could be a place name in Australia.
Dogs have a wonderful sense of smell, and usually they know good minerals for consumption when they spot them. Note the use of the word ‘usually’.
Oh my! Very young puppies = zestful canine terror!
Dame Avalanche would have been the alpha dog, and I’d also point out that firm patting of a dog I heard spoken of as the ‘cattleman’s secret’ to calm an over excited canine. Ollie used to do that to the young Kelpies, and it is disconcerting, but I know he cared very deeply for them, so had to let go of the concern.
It’s funny that about early mornings, isn’t it? I hear you. And after getting home late last night, the alarming this morning was a shock to the system.
Good stuff, and wise to seal up the house against the industrial smoke.
All apples do need thinning, and don’t seem to mind the activity. I know they say there are seasons for that activity, and it’s true with peaches for example, but other species seem unfussy. It’s not as if they didn’t evolve for megafauna to do the same trick.
Cheers (oh, and now you know – plans are never announced in advance)
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh my! Say, that’s a lot of peaches. What a nightmare for everyone involved in that story from the growers, pickers, transport and cannery folks. You know, I read such stories and think to myself: People aren’t yet hungry enough. A twenty year old fruit tree is just getting into peak production. What a waste.
Thanks for the elaboration on the jar business. I had this crazy idea that you and Pam were bashing away at the bottle seals, so as to get them to release the internal pressure. Words are difficult, especially when they’re about explanations. 😉
I’ve never travelled to a first world country other than New Zealand, but weeing in public down here would be frowned upon, and most likely illegal. Ha! Not having grown up in such a culture, the pressure to perform at the right moment, would be way too much for my brain to handle. 🙂 But yeah, other cultures, it happens.
That’s been our lives for the past fortnight. There really is a whole bunch of things needing to be done, and yet the mice… I dug and cemented another section of the house firewall today. Slowly as she goes. Incidentally, the Editor has a lot on her plate and I’d never intended her to be involved today with the activities. She got guilty, then grumpy, then as realisation sunk in that she could go and do her own thing instead, apologies soon followed. 🙂
Man, I just cranked the tunes, dug in the foggy drizzly weather, then after many hours out in the cold, another section – done. Actually it was good to have some quiet thinking time, because the rodent proofing work coalesced in my mind into a bigger more integrated picture. With only one or two mice left to deal with – and one is learning to avoid the bait, I may slow down on this activity so the outputs go to a good use (not that they aren’t, we don’t waste materials here).
Of course, we went to a gig last night, and perhaps the good tunes assisted thinking matters? We did something different, and headed an hours drive north to see the gig, and it was like stepping back in time a quarter century. A fun night.
Your temperatures are indeed so nice! I’ll have a read of the Professors latest essay later, and gloom, I know about gloom. It was like that here all day long. 🙂
And a fine hat it is indeed! 😉 Some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s later abstract art baffles me, mainly because the symbolism displayed is a bit outside my experience. The south west sort of desert environment doesn’t gel with my brain, mostly because I prefer damper environmental conditions. Dunno why. I actually thought that the painting had an almost American Gothic unearthly kind of vibe to it? Do you see that? By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed your critique.
I expect that with heavy fuels now in shorter supply than only just previously, cruises will be discouraged, and advertising this ship may possibly be part of that? But yeah, it’d be no good if that variant of the virus got into the local rodent population. There’s a lot to go wrong. Nobody seems overly excited about mass outbreaks of the norovirus on cruises, and people who are a bit, let’s just say, not at the top of their game, might have similar results to that rat thing? Dunno.
Possibly my brain, but I read the 40% to 50% sugar, and think of the possibilities for fermentation. I get the impression that normal bananas aren’t as concentrated with sugar, but do have other simple carbohydrates which have a similar effect.
Hmm, you know I got the distinct impression that it is possible that the commercially dried ones, are treated very differently than how you or I would dry them. A case of buyer beware, don’t you reckon?
Maybe so with the UE right to repair situation, but I bought the machine before that year, and it ain’t user serviceable, nor are there parts for DIY repairs. I am not happy about this at all.
Oh yeah, Six Feet Under was an astounding bit of television. Great is another fine description.
Interesting as to the excluded items. I do so like peanut butter, but freshly made, unsalted and without the oils – it doesn’t keep more than a few days in the fridge, as you’d imagine!
You’re at the lean time of year, so I’m unsurprised you’d be seeing so many err, meaty products. Chickens tend to come on the lay after the winter solstice, so again, it’s a sort of seasonal box.
Bet the oranges were good, and the greens seem like a dumb idea at the best of times.
And well, ensuring is a good idea, although consuming a diet very high in natural fibres, might work equally as well! 🙂
Speaking of poop, that’s the most awful poop news today. Sorry to hear that man, it’s no good. Hope the Club sorts out their digs, and that the price for purchase of a more permanent place comes down. You never know.
Cheers
Chris
@ Kallianeira – That was a great series! Very “Cold Comfort Farm.” Who can forget the toads roasting on the electric bar heater?
I always tell people who are wondering about moving to a small town, “Marry into an old, local family.” 🙂
Yo, Chris – Yes, that’s pretty tragic about the California peaches. Although they may be celebrating in the state of Georgia. They produce 2.6 million bushels, per year. Pretty ladies from Georgia, are often called “Georgia Peaches.” 🙂
Jars lids. Or, lost in translation 🙂 As was rocket aka Arugula aka Swiss Chard.
The last place I lived, I discovered mouse traps, similar to these …
https://groweze.com/products/feeke-mouse-traps-mice-traps-for-house-small-mice-trap-indoor-quick-effective-sanitary-safe-mousetrap-catcher-for-family-and-pet-6-pack-m01-6pack
Really easy to set, and not near a danger to your fingers, as the traditional traps. I used to bait them with a dab of peanut butter (mice can’t resist), and just a few sunflower seeds outside the trap, and sticking to the peanut butter. They also made a larger size trap, for rats.
A country dance! Sounds like a lot of fun. Was there a lot of drinking and fights out in the parking lot? 🙂
Our high yesterday was 63F (17.22C). Our overnight low was 46F (7.77C). Our forecast high for today is 76F. I saw an article about Antarctica, that you might find interesting. As it really impacts your weather.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/08/climate/antarctic-sea-ice-decline-winds-warming-ocean
I like the colors and forms of O’Keeffe’s SW paintings, but live there? No thanks. I went to the Seattle Art Museum, quit a few years ago, and one painting really stuck in my mind. I think of it, from time to time. Who knows why.
https://art.seattleartmuseum.org/objects/6316/a-celebration
Cruises and jet travel. Soon, only for the rich. Although the rich often already have their own jets. 🙂 Here, the airlines are dropping routes, and reducing number of flights.
Noro virus. Been there, had that. I do believe that was the sickest, I’ve ever been. But, at least, now, I’m stocked up with over-the-counter medicines, that would knock back some of the symptoms.
Well, in 41 years, The Club has been in five different locations. We’re not as lucky as Olympia, to our north or Kelso / Longview to our south. They own their own club buildings. Larger populations, and they bought when the real estate prices weren’t so nuts. It’s always been a dream of ours, but we’ve never been able to swing it.
Due to the time frame, we may not be able to move from one place to another, without putting all our “stuff” in storage. Double handling. 🙁
There will probably be an article in the local newspaper, and, maybe a segment on a local radio talk show. My friend Scott is working on that. Moral and confidence are high. We’ve been here, before.
I applied the second batch of nematodes to my garden patch, last night. Gave them a good water, and again, this morning. Lew
Chris:
Dirty Harry would have just blasted the beasties. I forgot to mention that I have always heard that a mouse can fit through a hole the size of an American dime. The internet says your 5 cent coin is that size. If the head fits, the rest fits. Don’t know about expectant mothers.
That trenching project is awfully tedious and hard.
You have a very good incentive, though. We have only had one mouse get inside the house in the 13 years since the house was mouse-proofed. Somebody left the basement door open and it sneaked in. That one Mr. Baby got.
Well, there ought to be some kind of police, if not a fun one, to keep things balanced. Do you think we unbalance it all? After all, we are part of nature and from what I see with the wildlife here, they love the changes we make. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many and of such variety, like you have also. I am afraid that we don’t have enough room and enough sun (and water?) to support it all.
That’s scary, having that strap break. It reminds me of when a neighbor lost a load of lumber (boards) off the back of his pickup on the highway. It almost never fails that I get a tailgater behind me on the 2-lane road into town. When no-one is ahead of me I go too fast already. When I’m 4th in a line of cars, like yesterday, what is the point of tailgating me? I can only go as fast as the cars in front of me. The one yesterday almost rear-ended me as, of course, we came around a blind curve and there was a schoolbus stationary in the road with red lights flashing. It was a close one.
How wonderful you had a lovely evening. You deserve it.
Pam
Chris and Lew:
As Lew said: “I only use the tap, tap method on commercial jars. My jam jars, well, they’re the ring with the flat lid. I’ve never had a problem getting the ring off (which gets reused), but the flat lid .. well, there’s a funny hook thing on my can opener, and I can carefully lift the lid enough to break the seal. The flat lids don’t get reused.”
That’s what I do, too. I didn’t make myself clear.
Pam
Hi kallianeira,
Thanks for the insight into life in your part of the world. Things are kind of similar here in that you can have lived through a couple of decades, and there are still some who’ll consider you a blow-in. It is of interest to me that there is a kernel of truth to their braying, and people do come and go here, especially as they get older. There’s a few places up for sale recently which fit that description. You may notice that I have taken that lesson on board and am working my backside off to make this place easy to live, and be resilient.
Of course! And this tomorrows blog is again full of details of rodent thwarting with the house. I finally discovered the rat hole today. Hmm.
Hehe! It’s an option with the coffee-gate incident. Good luck, and spillage is part of life isn’t it?
Oh yeah, that use is probably a bit much for them. The wind load from shade cloth is a matter I was dealing with those sun blinds. If I may suggest, UV stable strong cord with a high breakage rating, would work better. The cost isn’t that great either. I tested one product last year, and it worked a treat, so give me a yell if you need a recommendation?
🙂 More on this story, tomorrow. And the dogs are not free to roam the house at night.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Thanks for the explanation as to the jar opening technique. Sorry for getting the wrong impression. All is now (as the old timers used to say) as clear as mud! 🙂
Hehe! Blasting the rodents is a rather strong response, but yeah, cool! The problem is, they’re so fast, I’d miss for sure, and then there’d be even more holes. Speaking of which, I finally discovered the rat hole this morning. I knew it’d turn up sooner or later. New rodents had been arriving, which is why the dramas have been going on for a fortnight now. Oh well. And that’s a good point, although the chickens once showed me a rat nest – it was not pretty what then happened.
Yes, all very true and you could say that I am motivated. It’s a bummer that there are so many other things to do right now, but that’s life isn’t it? Respect to Mr Baby, and I could use his services right now. Oh well.
I’m 100% with you, we imbalance things in our favour, and most often our interests run parallel to the forest critters – unless human interests are taken to an extreme. Absolutely, if we say, let the trees decide the matter, there’d be a dense thicket of vegetation, and it would be a quiet space devoid of life. A forest regenerating a few years after a wild fire, looks and sounds a lot like that. It’s a dead zone for critters of massed saplings, dead older trees with no housing and little to eat. A foolish arrangement.
Pam, I can’t explain that behaviour either. But I do wonder if cars are so reliable these days that the drivers begin their journeys with the thought: “Let’s assume nothing will go wrong!” That sort of thinking pervades our society, and I don’t much like it. Fortunately, I’d used three straps just in case, and they held firm.
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Actually, I’m surprised that the goobermint in that big state let a business as important as a major cannery fail. Cheaper to keep the thing running, than try and rebuild it from scratch later. Seems like a situation I’d describe as sub-fluffy-resilient. People have to eat, and canneries are kind of an important food preservation industry. Dunno. Respect to the Georgia Peaches! 🙂 Shame about Lynyrd Skynyrd in their err, fall from grace.
Yeah, exactly, my brain thought the worst when reading descriptions of tapping jar lids against rocks / benches etc. I’ve not thought to try such a technique!
Nah, man. There’ll be no traps here. The rodents crossed a line when they broke into the house. They know the rules and consequences, and I set firm boundaries. And! I finally discovered the rat hole this morning. Oh man, it was a long work day. Started in the fog and drizzle, but by about 3pm the sun was shining. Me tired. But the downhill side of the house has now been trenched and concreted. Take no prisoners ye pesky rodents.
The thing with finding the hole, is that I now know why it’s been going on for a fortnight despite baiting. New rodents have been breaking on in. I’m not here to provide them with winter comfort, they can go, err, away. My feelings are such that I was almost about to break the house rules in relation to swearing! You see what I’m dealing with here? 😉
It wasn’t quite a country dance, no. Everyone knows I can’t dance. No, the troubadour has arisen again. More on this tomorrow. Mind you, I did have a pint of alcoholic Creamy Soda with dinner, which was dangerously drinkable if you know what I mean.
I’m well aware of the decline in sea ice on that massive frozen continent. Did you know, that during the days of the dinosaurs, they used to roam down there? The bones had special adaptions to handle the dark winters, but long ago there must have been more plant life. Anywhoo, the last week of cold and frigid weather here was courtesy of that ‘The Big Chill’ continent. Sea ice is wonderful stuff because it holds the land glaciers back from slipping into the oceans. What did everyone expect would happen?
The PNW art folks blocked me, the interweb is dead, you read it here first! Anywhoo, taking a left of centre approach to this digital super highway produced the painting with it’s lovely cumulus tall clouds. That’s rain, right there depicted in the skies.
True, about the personal jets, but we did mention the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd a while ago. Hope those folks know what they’re doing, but I will point to the hubris of that deep dive Titanic sub which gave me an attack of the vapours – probably for good and valid reasons. I recall a helicopter flight which crashed into a nearby mountain range. Was it really necessary to speed up a journey for those well heeled folks in less than fluffy optimal conditions?
Yes, travel will soon be what it recently once wasn’t.
Me too with the spew virus, and I still hate upon that hippy café which took both of us down. Some hurts are real. Man, I wheedled with the doc to provide a script for a more potent anti-nausea stuff. It’s been useful, and organ failure is a very real thing.
To live is to dream, and who knows what the future holds in store for your Club? Fingers crossed for your people.
Ha! Had to laugh about that double handling biz with the Club and their stuff. Yup, I so hear you. If I may say so, sometimes a good enough outcome takes an awful lot of work. That could have been the summation of my entire week. Hmm. If I’d spent one more hour during construction of the house, none of this would have happened. Oh well. I so hate the rodents.
Go Scott, and clearly he has the knack for publicity in a tight spot. Fingers crossed it works out well, and yeah experience provides some solid lessons as to responses.
Go the land sharks! And are you observing a reduction in pill bugs? Nematodes do much heavy lifting, and if not for those wonderful critters, I’d be over run by Portuguese millipedes. Twenty years ago they were a nightmare insect!
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Government business bailouts are funny stuff. Who gets them, and who doesn’t. Might have a lot to do with where the business has, in past, been throwing money, at which politician.
So, the mice have been using a rat hole from your previous rodent war? Oh, I’m sure you’ll make it all clear in your post, tonight.
With a pint of cherry soda in you, I’d expect you to “trip the light fantastic.” Maybe if you’d watched more musicals … 🙂 Back in the day, well lubed, I’d dance my a__ off. No one said I was a bad dancer. But then again, no one said I was a good dancer, either. 🙂
Wasn’t Antarctica further north in them thar days? Continental drift and all that.
Our high yesterday was 72F (2.22C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). Our forecast high for today is 66F.
I’m glad you could see the O’Keeffe picture, one way or another. I picked up a book about an artist, last week, that looked interesting. “Good Enough to Eat: The Art of Noah Verrier.” He paints mostly … food. Fast food, comfort food. Like a Dutch still life. Interesting dude. On line, the pictures look mostly like photo realism. But when I got the book, I was surprised that he has a very lose brush style. I bet he had trouble in art school. In the first place, he’s more or less a realist. In the second, he decided to use an old technique, which has fallen out of style. Oil paint. Wet in wet oil paint.
Do the nematodes have the wood lice on the run? Seem to. Maybe. Every night knock one or two off my potato plants.
Yesterday, I spent quit awhile in the garden. Started off by weeding. You know how that goes. I weeded the strawberry bed, and then moved on to my long plot. Creeping Wood Sorrel is a constant problem. One of the Oxalis. I keep finding it where I thought I’d already taken care of it. And, are variety is brown, so hard to spot. Until it puts out this small yellow flower. And, it has a habit of cozying right up next to the strawberries. I had to lift a few of them, to get at the sorrel.
I then went through several bags of, well, garbage from the Club. They keep a five gallon bucket, with bag, to toss the spent coffee filters in. And, a lot of other junk gets pitched in there. I lay down a piece of cardboard, shake out a bag, and pick out everything but the coffee grounds. Even the filters. They don’t break down very fast, and, it ends up looking like I’m raising a crop of dirty diapers. 🙂 I ended up with enough coffee grounds, to pretty much cover the strawberry bed. I’m not done with it yet. I’ll be working other things, into the soil, and relocating some of them. Deer guard needs to be put up.
It’s Mother’s Day, so, time to fertilize the blueberries. Ammonium sulfate. I hope I can find it in the Master Gardener’s store room. Lew
@Lew,
>I always tell people who are wondering about moving to a small town, “Marry into an old, local family.”
It must moreover be one of the *good* old local families. My masseuse says there are both kinds here. I had better do some research…
2/3 of The League of Gentlemen team went on to make a further, blacker series, “Psychoville”. It was such a tour de force that imagery from it largely burned out the former.
@Chris, I know it is Monday, not sure whether it is better etiquette to wait till the new post is up?
>UV stable strong cord with a high breakage rating
I’ll take a recommendation, thank you. Local hardware staff don’t necessarily know what of what one is asking.
kallianeira