Yesterday morning I was outside early. The air was heavy with moisture. A thick fog made visibility nearly impossible. The temperatures had risen enough that the snows had deflated. Still, that sheet of white stretched across the yard, patterned with footprints, then disappeared into the haze.
Uriah happily ran ahead of me, he kept his nose in the snow and pushed it along. I examined one of his ‘nose prints’ and saw a maze of trails filtering under the snow.
Chipmunks rarely showed their faces in the winter, they keep low and hidden. These are their trails. With the help of Uriah’s’ nose and the melting snow the tunnels were caving in.
Under that white snow, everything was slippery slushy, grey and wet, which made my ability to walk a little hazardous.
I made a number of mistakes yesterday. The first was going for a walk past the backyard…
I grabbed the mate to my solitary ski pole and started off across the yard. Even using both ski poles as if I had on cross county skis, my feet slipped.
Next mistake, I wasn’t wearing boots. By the time walked back into the house, my gym shoes had soaked up a lot of cold water.
My feet were frozen and my back was screaming. I told myself to stop, stand where I was and let Uriah come to me..
I stood off near the deck, and watched those rats climb over the live trap. They ran in and out and stepped on the trigger pad. Never setting it off! I need to declare war on these rodents, before they get out of hand!
Uriah came and sat next to me. He started to whine when he saw a rat poke its head out a hole. It had its own maze of tunnels under the snow. The differences between the rat and the chipmunk; I hardly ever see a chipmunk in the winter. These rats, when they feel the vibration of my footsteps they stick their heads out and say, “Hello, feed me!”
Later today I will set up the live trap with birdseed farther away from the deck, in the open. I can hope, that the freezing weather won’t stop the hawk from hunting.
One way or another… Their days are numbered; at least that is what my husband said. He bought a couple of rat traps.
What a difference a few hours can make..
I had an appointment in Algonquin. Anytime I’m in that area, I stop by the, Borders Books, and get cup of hot coffee at, Seattle’s Best Coffee café. I sat, read and bought myself a treat, a slice of chocolate peppermint loaf cake. My favorite things, books, chocolate, peppermint and coffee, all I needed was a lap top and I would have been in heaven. *Now I mentioned this, because it was nice and warm.*
By 9 o’clock that evening, I was once more standing outside with my dog. Freezing!
“Okay, Uriah! Go do your business!” In order for you to get the full effect, imagine each word spoken haltingly. Add some strong freezing winds, and an epithet, or two.
I have to admit, with the snow rock hard, walking was a lot easier than earlier in the day.
I looked over at the live trap, it sat open and all the bird seed was missing.
I sighed heavily, shivered, and shook my head. Then laughed at the irony, when the winds triggered the trap and the door snapped shut…