I started my “trial week” at a new gym. My old gym had old beat-up equipment. You didn’t adjust anything. This new place has machines with all sort of adjustments. The work out is harder and I’m still figuring it out. Some equipment I hang onto for dear life while the 20-something next to me is texting on her phone without holding on to anything. I’ll get there if I don’t get flung into a wall.
Mice update – I (Morgan says “we”) caught another one this week. She sniffs them out and I catch. We are a team. This time Gracie was all into it. Current tally – Morgan 2 (killed), Kate 4 (rehomed), mousetrap 0. Our home has gotten a 5 star rating in the mouse version of a travel guide. Got to find it and burn it.
Saying goodbye to summer – I’m talking fresh produce here not the weather (although I’ve been known to whine about that too). Our tomatoes are slowing down. We are down to a dozen cherry tomatoes and one or two small ones every three days. Anyone who grows cherry tomatoes knows that they don’t all make it to the house. Warmed by the sun and so sweet, I can’t help myself. The last of the peaches are out too. I did buy my first local apple.
Breaking news! The beloved husband caught a mouse in the mousetrap overnight. So Morgan 2, Kate 4, mousetrap 1. Maybe we should move.
Sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone in the path of the next round of hurricanes.
I don’t like mice….really don’t like mice.
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I prefer them out in the fields where they belong!
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I’m cringing just thinking about the mice! You’re a lot tougher than I am in this department. I might need to move. Good luck getting with the new gym. I have a feeling you’ll be showing off before long. 🙂
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We got a lead on something new for the mice invasion. If that doesn’t work, we may need a professional (or another cat as Morgan is getting exhausted!).
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All those adjustments on machines make me tired just thinking about them. Simple is good. (Still just walking here, but need to kick activity ip a notch – or cut out ice cream…decisions decisions.)
The birds are returning after the storm – we need the darn hawks – there’s a mouse running the fence each evening…and it’s sure to invite friends. Leave the doves and bluejays alone and go for the mouse!
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Don’t cut out the ice cream!
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Never.
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OhMyGosh, the mice comments are too funny! We had a mice issue when we first moved in. 500 bucks later and a big thanks to Peter from Critter Control and his steel wool and caulking we appear to me without mice. BUT I am never sure! Horny mice are NOT a good thing!!!!!!!!!!! Glad Morgan is on the job!
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Morgan has been sleeping upstairs since the latest incident. I interpret that as a good sign. She knows before we do. There were no mouse droppings anywhere so their life inside must have been short term.
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Yes, maybe just cruising through checking out the housing situation and after seeing Morgan thinking another choice for winter housing would be better some place else!
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We can only hope! At this point Morgan is a 12 lb. large fit cat who looks like she goes to the gym everyday.
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I like mice. I really do. If they stay OUTSIDE. We haven’t had any mice visitations for many years, and yet, a few nights ago, I had a dream (nightmare?) that I walked up the stairs to my home office and found four of them playing around my keyboard. I raced downstairs to tell my guy to TAKE CARE OF THE MICE!, and by the time we raced back up the office, it was inundated with several dozen mice. I have no idea where this dream came form, or why. Mice must be symbolic of something – what would you guess? ;-0
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Let’s hope it’s partying! Very weird dream!
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Oh. Well. I like your interpretation. This, of course, was one of my more ‘sane’ dreams. Yeah, I get some real whoopers. ;-0
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It’s good that you have cats to help rid the house of mice, but I would get an exterminator to detect how the mice are getting in and fix the problem at its source. It sounds like you have a lot of them.
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We are trying one more thing first. It’s a plug in thing that makes super high pitch noises. It came highly recommended by a friend who had a problem a few years back.
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We had a mouse in a condo my ex and I owned in Northern Virginia. I saw it and she swears I was speaking in tongues because I was so upset — the “words” that came out of my mouth were indecipherable. I’m glad you’ve got the cats to be your army. – Marty
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We are trying a plug-in ultrasound noise thingie. Hopefully it’s too high pitched for cats but just right for rodents.
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Oh, we use those too. For bugs here.
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I’d like to know how that ultrasound thingie is working for you. I recently heard about them but Husband is skeptical about their effectiveness.
I have found so many dead mice in the backyard over the past couple of weeks (good work Theo!!) that I’m concerned sooner or later a family or two will find their way into the house.
Good work on all your mousing fronts. Now if only we could find something effective to work on raccoons 😦
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We use the plug in thing in our garage which is easy (for a mouse) to get into. One got into my husband’s a/c and caused a lot of damage. We haven’t had any issues since we started using it and we keep the birdseed there. That version was too small for the basement. It would only drive them from one side to the other. The new one covers a wider range. I’m sure I’ll post if we are not mouse free after that.
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“…while the 20-something next to me is texting on her phone without holding on to anything.”
Yeah, that would gall me too.
As regards the mice – hubby thought he had found and sealed all access points, but discovered hidden holes at the exterior corners, where the ends of the vinyl siding meet underneath a length of J-channel (or whatever it’s called). He figures the mice climbed up the concrete foundation to the siding and slipped inside. These holes have since been sealed with steel wool. So far, no mice.
You still have a marvelous sense of humour, Kate!
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Thanks! You gave us a new place to look.
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Good luck on the mouse front. None here yet, but I expect they’ll be bringing their little suitcases in as the weather gets colder. Hang in there with the new gym equipment. Ignore the 20-somethings. Not their fault they are so young!
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They remind of how old I am with their nimbleness and dexterity. I was among the youngest at my old gym. That gave me an illusion of youth.
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Seriously, I’d have to move….or adopt Morgan (or you) permanently. I do love the thought of mice being rehomed. Any chance that it is some of the same ones revisiting?
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I don’t think it’s the same ones although I thought we could tag them. Usually I find them at 11 p.m. when I’m in fuzzy socks. I have to find shoes and hope the neighbors don’t notice my nightgown on my trips down to the retention pond.
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My husband showed me a “present” one of the cats had left in the backyard. Thankfully no mice in the house. Hubby says he’s seen them in the garage but not for a while. EWWW. Good luck with the gym. I know what you mean about those machines. I’m gobbling as many peaches, plums and nectarines as I can because I know they’ll be gone soon. Summer fruit is my favorite. Happy Thursday Kate.
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I love summer fruit best and it seems to go so fast. Apples last forever it seems.
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I haven’t seen any mice around here but we do have an invasion of rabbits. Not inside the house, thank goodness (although I have had a few hop into our garage when we’ve left the door open), but I think we may have a family under our deck. They are so darn cute, but I wish they’d find another place to hang out.
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We had a lot of rabbits in the spring but we have resident hawks. They usually keep the rabbit and mouse and chipmunk populations in check. They must not have a taste for mouse this year.
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This seems to have been a banner year for bunnies. This summer it seems they are popping up everywhere I look. They really are so damn cute!
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They are cute. If only they didn’t eat my flowers.
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For them, flowers are candies on a stick 🙂
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You are right. It’s like lily buds to deer.
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Don’t give up on getting rid of those mice! They can be clever (our last one stayed in the attic, confusing the cats as they looked up with bewilderment at the noise in the ceiling), but we humans are MORE clever. Aren’t we? I think we are. Yes, let’s go with the humans being more clever than the mice.
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I’m wondering who is more clever these days. Morgan is more clever than us for sure. She’s the one who finds them. We’d never know without her.
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You’re brave to try a new gym. I’m too intimidated by the places!! I’ll stick to my personal trainer so I don’t have to learn anything on my own.
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That would be nice. It is intimidating but I’m determined to find the few machines I like. I don’t spend more than a half hour there and I alternate with walking which I find makes my heart rate go up more. We’ll see. If I don’t like it, I’ll revert to all walking. I still haven’t tried yoga but that would be a once a week thing.
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Being full of know-it-all conclusions, I have concluded that this is the time of year the mice try to find warm dry cozy places to winter. Your house must represent warm and cozy quarters, so much so that they are willing to face kitty predators and slightly ineffective traps. And I suspect the “re-homed” batallion who may be trying again and again to re-occupy are eternally grateful for your compassion. 🙂
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I thought it was a little early when they started 6 weeks ago but fall is definitely in the air now. They seem to enjoy the kitty litter room. That would be my last choice in a house full of cats.
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Kate, is there a lot of new construction going on near you? It sounds as if the mice are being driven from their previous residences and your place is proving to be the first stop on the exodus line.
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No. The last house (3 doors up) built was finished 3 years ago.
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Hmmm, perhaps in a neighboring development then? I can’t imagine why you would have gone so many years with not one critter to now having them stroll through the property with such regularity. Oh well, at least you aren’t squeamish. I’d have recruited much harsher methods to rid my space of the tiny fur balls.
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It has us confused too although many years ago our next door neighbor had mice. I advised her to get a cat (which she didn’t). I got a lead on a plug in ultrasound repellent that won’t bother the cats. We use that in the garage but haven’t used in basement.
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What’s up with all of the mice? Have you had this problem in the past? We slept with the windows open last night…it was wonderful. Now we’re getting ready for Irma. The stores are already out of water.
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I have no idea. We’ve been here 14 years and haven’t had one. This year it’s been an invasion. We recaulked, replaced vent screens and few other things and they are still coming in. Do they know something I don’t? Good luck with the storm. They are not talking about it hitting us but I don’t think they know the northern path yet.
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Perhaps you guys sealed a family of them IN your house! 🙂
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I wondered that too but we went through 10 mouse-less days. I did a major cleaning of the basement yesterday and didn’t even find mouse poop. I was lulled into a comfort zone only to find one more in the trap this morning.
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Have you checked all the pipework under sinks to see if there are any holes a mouse could squeeze through?. Around laundry tub plumbing? You may have them in the exterior wall cavity with access to whatever roof space you have! If all else fails… start following Morgan around and see where she spends her time scenting! 🙂
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Kitchen pipes are not on an exterior wall. We did recaulk and in some cases replaced any ductwork or pipes going out. The tipoff with Morgan is that she starts sitting on the bottom step of the basement. That’s when I know something is up. Usually the showdown with the mouse happens at night but she waits all day too. We can’t help thinking they are getting in there somehow. They can wiggle in really small spaces.
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How about pipework on interior walls. If your non-paying tenants have access to a wall cavity, they can pretty much go anywhere. Their home could be in a cavity, or up in the roof area, and they just climb down when they feel a need to play “hide ‘n’ seek” with Morgan!
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I think we’ve got a possum in our garage again. Dogs: 0, Cats: 0, Humans/ rehome: 3. This would make 4.
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A possum? Wow! Makes my mice problem look small.
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Well, because they are solitary, possums aren’t as bad as mice. Also, they move on after 3 days. And they eat bugs and rotten fruit. Big fan of that, though apparently they also like dog food.
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Maybe not so bad. At least they don’t bring their relatives!
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We got TWO at one time in a trap 2 nights ago. I didn’t even know that was possible!
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I guess they wanted to be together no matter what! Kind of sweet.
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My vary limited knowledge of mice is that they live in pairs or groups. Every time I’ve found a nest there were several living together. Like a commune from the 60s. All they needed was beads and sandals.
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It IS kind of romantic, isn’t it?
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Two at once! That destroys the rebuttal to “The early bird gets the worm”…. being “Yes, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese!” 🙂
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We didn’t use cheese. Some hormone paste came with the trap. I guess that means we had two horny mice.
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