I went up Sunday for "a bless". Father Rich prayed for me and said it seemed as though I am trying really hard to be happy. You hit the nail on the head, Father. Well, apart from my trying to save money and having to cook every meal at home (currently over a hot stove), I have been trying to get my house clean. Every time I try to clean something, either the kids need me or they need something to eat, or they just need attention. I have about 200 interruptions per day. At this rate, I might be able to get my house cleaned up in, say, September, 2012. I have been staying at home a lot lately, like Peg, to save money and gas, however, since it has been like in the low 100's here, and I am trying to save money on air conditioning, too, it has been exceptionally hot. So, when it is 80 in the house, you don't feel like cleaning. And the last few days it has been extremely humid, too. So, at least once per day, I stick my head in the freezer to keep cool, with the excuse of trying to find something for dinner in there. Well, it takes a long time to find something in the freezer...
The only saving grace is a gift from a friend. Last night, after sweating over a hot stove making tacos, I climbed in the pool with the girls. Now most of you will be thinking, they don't have a pool. But, alas, thanks to Julie, we do! It is about 8 feet across and two feet deep. Just perfect. Has a pump and everything. Very cool! Literally! The girls have thoroughly enjoyed it! It even came with a floaty thing for Rebekah to sit in and a cover that ties on and won't blow away in our gale force winds. We parked it on the back patio under the patio cover and the girls can go in without getting sunburned. And when we needed to change the water in it, we just dumped it all over the grass, which needed watering anyway. Cool! I went to bed last night feeling very cooled down. It was great. I highly recommend a dip in the pool before going to bed.
Another thing that is causing me angst is my mouse. Or, should I say, mice. They are everywhere. My neighbors have them, too. The neighbor's cat has been catching them in the house, but the cat decided to bring a prize onto their bed and kill it there. At least I don't have them in the house! They ARE in my garage and in my car, in my backyard and in my bbq. They are driving me nuts. I have figured out how to get rid of the gophers, now how do I get rid of the mice? I was driving down the street the other day and I happened to glance on the floor behind the front passenger seat. I saw a mouse run under the seat. I was DRIVING! This is not good! I have no junk in my car. The girls are not allowed to bring stuff in the car. I need to vacuum it again because there is mouse poo in my car. Nice. I don't know how to keep them out of my car. I need to try the peppermint oil. I am going to get some tomorrow. Today. It is two in the morning. We used the bbq the other night and I went back out to make sure it was turned off. Open the lid and a mouse stares up at me. Great. Do you try to incinerate the mouse in the bbq or just let him leave without an incident? I let him leave. What's one more mouse in the scheme of things?
Top Ten Ways To Know You Have a Mouse Problem
10 You find a dead mouse in your car's a/c unit
9 You make noises before going into your garage to scare them away
8 You open your car as loudly as possible so as to scare away the mice.
7 Your car is clean...except for the mouse poo
6 Your car is never clean, except now that you have mice
5 You have a mouse in your car and you don't panic
4 You catch three mice in your garage...without a trap (they all climbed in the trash can voluntarily)
3 Your children are not afraid of mice...and they cheer when you catch one in the glue trap
2 You consider hiring a big mean cat to scare away the mice
1 You spend more time thinking about mice than about gophers
Uggh! I am so sick of this. Last year was the floods, which probably contributed to the mice this year. You know, more vegetation, food, places to hide and have babies. This year is the mice. Are we going to have snakes next year? It feels like the plagues!
Thank you God, for sending mice and not snakes or scorpions. I mean it.
Anyway, I have been trying really hard to be happy amidst all of this. I know God loves me and I have been trying to be faithful and have trust in Him that He will take care of me. Spiritually, financially, emotionally. Listening to Canon Gary was amazing, and eye-opening. I just need to have more faith.
I am also a bit jealous of Scott. Getting to take these courses and learn all this stuff. I see him in church, praising God, lifting his hands. Reckless abandon. How cool! I always feel I have to watch out for the girls, but less so now that Bekah goes in with Grace. Scott is doing very well. He has learned so much. He has so much more faith than I do. Thank you God, that I am married to a rock. He is wonderful and I am so blessed that God chose him as my husband. I would not have made such a good choice. God knew better than I did. I am curious where God will lead our family in the coming years. He has a plan, we just don't know what it is. I love my husband so much and I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.
I am trying to be happy, but it helps to get some of it out here. Thanks for listening. To whom should I make out my check for this session?
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Friday, June 16, 2006
Life in the Desert
I wish it was life in the dessert! Oh, well. We caught another one. There seems to be an abundant, never ending supply of gophers here in the desert. Mice too. And of all things, we are going to Chuck E Cheese today. More mice. I spoke with my neighbor the other day and she told me that the elementary school where her son goes just put out poison for the gophers a couple of weeks ago. The kids couldn't go outside for six days. Well, they picked up over seven THOUSAND dead gophers on the lawn at the school. Yeah, thousand. Her son looked outside of his classroom one day and said he could count over a hundred right outside the window. That's a lot of gophers. I guess I am fighting a losing battle. A whole bunch of the bulbs that I planted in the spring have been dug up and eaten. I thought I was victorious again when I caught one in the trap at the beginning of the week. Then I walked out to the slope and found a huge pile of soft dirt and a couple of holes in my lawn. That's where I draw the line. Well, I was watering, so I stuffed the hose in the hole. Instead of bubbling out, it went down. So, I waited. It kept going. So, I waited. It started to finally come out halfway down the slope. As I was pulling the hose out, I looked about halfway down the slope and saw fur. Grey and wet. I yelled to Scott to come out and help me. He ran outside, without shoes on, and brought a shovel with him. I had the hose and kept water on the guy. He was coming straight at me! He was about two feet away when he went sideways on the slope and behind a big flowering bush. He was trying to dig, but I kept the water on him and he was moving really slow. Well, Scott and the shovel came to my rescue. His innerds became outerds, so to speak and the gopher was no more. I guess this will be a continuous battle. Bummer. I will not be able to have bulbs out here. Not until there is more civilization around me. Or maybe just in containers. My calla lilies in the planter are coming up nicely. Of course, they will probably burn up in the heat before they have flowers. Oh, well, such is life in the desert. At least we don't have the quantity of stink bugs that my sister in law has at her house, crawling all over the place. Yuck. We don't have cockroaches out here and we don't have fleas. I haven't seen any scorpions yet and only a few black widows, not like in the valley. But mice and gophers are abundant. No more mice in my car. Good incentive to keep it clean!
I had to juggle activities tomorrow. Possible activities for tomorrow included helping my mother in law's friend Andy pack up his stuff to move, go see my aunt who I haven't seen in almost a year, go cherry picking with Dad, go to a birthday party. Well, we will be going cherry picking EARLY in the morning, like at 8:00, then off to the birthday party. With the kids running around, I would probably be more trouble than help with the move. And thankfully my aunt understands. This is why it is important to look at your calendar before you make plans. I, who never have any plans, made multiple plans on the same day. I am beginning to feel like someone else I know, who can't make any plans until she checks her calendar! Thankfully, I am not that busy. But I do need to check the calendar!
The girls are doing very well. Looking forward to the birthday party. They helped pick out the presents and Jess has been counting the days until it is time to go. She loves parties and being with people. She has had the dress picked out that she is going to wear for a few days already. Rebekah has been building with lego's lately. She built a "robot" and a house. She said she needs more lego's. We have been listening to The Chronicles of Narnia in the car on audio CD's. It is wonderful. And the girls have watched the movie so many times that Rebekah has even memorized the lines. She sat on my lap and looked at me and frowned. "Well, I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want!" I burst out laughing and so did she. It was very funny. She's funny without trying to be. I just love my girls.
We are getting ready for Jessica's ballet recital on July 1. She "performed" for us the other night and did the whole thing perfectly. I know because yesterday in her ballet class we got to watch the whole class do it and she was great! Her teacher said she knows the material, she just doesn't listen very well. When I was in grade school, they always told my mom, "Amy is very smart, she just doesn't apply herself." Well, my mom's request that I get a kid just like me, so I know what she went through came true. Jess is a lot like I was. What am I in for? A fun time, I think, she is a joy to be around and always has a smile on her face. She likes to do things for others and she really cares for kids smaller than her. She is always doing something. We just have to channel that. She is already doing chores. It is now her resposibility to vacuum under the kitchen table and take the swiffer mop and mop under the table. She does a great job, too. For a five year old. She misses stuff, but she is learning. Gotta start somewhere. She makes her bed and cleans up the playroom, too, but not consistently. That is what we have to work on. She will get to enjoy her summer and then, in the fall, we will be on a new schedule...School!
I had to juggle activities tomorrow. Possible activities for tomorrow included helping my mother in law's friend Andy pack up his stuff to move, go see my aunt who I haven't seen in almost a year, go cherry picking with Dad, go to a birthday party. Well, we will be going cherry picking EARLY in the morning, like at 8:00, then off to the birthday party. With the kids running around, I would probably be more trouble than help with the move. And thankfully my aunt understands. This is why it is important to look at your calendar before you make plans. I, who never have any plans, made multiple plans on the same day. I am beginning to feel like someone else I know, who can't make any plans until she checks her calendar! Thankfully, I am not that busy. But I do need to check the calendar!
The girls are doing very well. Looking forward to the birthday party. They helped pick out the presents and Jess has been counting the days until it is time to go. She loves parties and being with people. She has had the dress picked out that she is going to wear for a few days already. Rebekah has been building with lego's lately. She built a "robot" and a house. She said she needs more lego's. We have been listening to The Chronicles of Narnia in the car on audio CD's. It is wonderful. And the girls have watched the movie so many times that Rebekah has even memorized the lines. She sat on my lap and looked at me and frowned. "Well, I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want!" I burst out laughing and so did she. It was very funny. She's funny without trying to be. I just love my girls.
We are getting ready for Jessica's ballet recital on July 1. She "performed" for us the other night and did the whole thing perfectly. I know because yesterday in her ballet class we got to watch the whole class do it and she was great! Her teacher said she knows the material, she just doesn't listen very well. When I was in grade school, they always told my mom, "Amy is very smart, she just doesn't apply herself." Well, my mom's request that I get a kid just like me, so I know what she went through came true. Jess is a lot like I was. What am I in for? A fun time, I think, she is a joy to be around and always has a smile on her face. She likes to do things for others and she really cares for kids smaller than her. She is always doing something. We just have to channel that. She is already doing chores. It is now her resposibility to vacuum under the kitchen table and take the swiffer mop and mop under the table. She does a great job, too. For a five year old. She misses stuff, but she is learning. Gotta start somewhere. She makes her bed and cleans up the playroom, too, but not consistently. That is what we have to work on. She will get to enjoy her summer and then, in the fall, we will be on a new schedule...School!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Cherries!
Well, I have already gone to two cherry places and the cherries are good! Cherry season officially opens on Saturday the 17th. So, they will be available for at least three weeks after that. We went to one place on Sunday after church to check it out and the cherries were $3/lb. The place I went to today was $2/lb. At Rhodes Ranch today we got bing cherries and they were good, big and sweet. Rebekah and Jessica sat down at the table when we got home and ate cherries. The air was cool at the orchard, a lot of people had light jackets on. Breezy, about 70 degrees. Nice! We only got five pounds of cherries, I picked three and the girls each picked one. But we had fun! It only took about 30-40 minutes. We had fun. They wanted to get more, and so they are looking forward to going again.
What a Day!
Some cute pictures. The girls are just cute all the time and the sunset was absolutely gorgeous on Sunday night. The sheep were out on the field across from our house, you could hear them making sheep noises out there and the sunset was beautiful. This is the view of the sunset we have from our front yard. One good reason we like living where we live.
As far as the gophers go, I caught another one. I have figured out that if I "bait" the traps, they come running. That is, set the trap, put it in the hole and find a half eaten bulb that they have destroyed and put it just outside the trap. Has worked twice now. The dumb gophers are still eating my gladiola plants and I don't think I will get a single flower from them. They are also eating the strawberry plants that are in the ground. And one dared to dig a hole in the grass. That was the last straw. They must die. So, I set the trap, baited it and WHAM! Checked it the next morning and there he was.
Oh, and I had a mouse in my car. The lady at the deli gave Jess and Bekah chocolate ladybugs and I left them in the console between the seats. Got back in the car later and found a scrape in the top of one of them. Okay, throw them away, just in case. Wait, where is the third one? Couldn't find it. Found it yesterday after I opened the door to my car and saw a mouse run under the seat. I think it got in through the heater vents under the seats. Anyway, cleaned out my car, which wasn't very dirty and found the other ladybug, on the floor behind the seats, with all the aluminum foil peeled off and a big chunk of chocolate missing from the top of the ladybug. Dumb mice. They must be female mice. What with the way mice reproduce they are probably all PMSing all the time. They need chocolate, too! I am going to try baiting the traps in the garage with chocolate! One hershey kiss in each trap ought to do it! I'll show them!
I never thought I would see the day that Scott would put a bug outside that was in the house, but he does a lot for his little brown haired girl. She found a little black beetle in the house the other day and decided it was a baby bug and that we needed to take care of it. I finally convinced her to let Daddy put it outside and let it find its family. So, Daddy did the honorable thing, but it took all he had not to squish it. He was good. The next morning the girls were looking out the door to see if it was still there.
At the grocery store last night. Trying to pick what flavor of yogurt the girls would like. Woman standing next to me. Jess stands next to her, (she is on her cell phone), looks at her and says, "Do you know who the devil is?" I wanted to disappear into the floor! Well, luckily, the lady's response was, "Yes, I do, but I also know Jesus!" Thank heaven for small miracles! We had a little discussion about tact. Talk about embarrassing!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Rodents
Websters: belonging or pertaining to the gnawing or nibbling mammals of the order Rodentia, including the mice, squirrels, beavers, etc.
Amy: a group of small pain in the behind critters that mock me continuously, even in death
I don't like them. No, that is too nice. I despise them. I hate them. I want to kill them all. I am not normally a violent person, however rodents bring out the worst in me. And blogland lets me vent. So you have to listen.
It all started as I went to take Jess to ballet today. We were running late, looking for her ballet slippers, which were not where they were supposed to be. So, we piled into the car and backed it out of the driveway, when I noticed an unusually strong stench in my car. I could barely breath and decided that another mouse had gotten into my car and decided to die there. So, put the car in park and proceed to look under all the seats. Nothing. We proceeded to go to ballet. I realized quickly that it was coming through the air condition vents. Turn off the air. Over 90 degrees outside. Turn the air back on. Try not to breathe. Turn the air off. Put the window down. Hot. Noisy. Yucky smell coming from my vents. WHY ME??? I call Dad.
"Something died in my air conditioning in my car."
"Well, it's probably in the air cleaner, so take off the cover and look inside." (He thinks this is easy for everyone!)
Okay, I will have Scott take a look at it when I get home."
Scott arrives at the gas station shortly after I do and I lift the hood and we start to poke around. Don't see the black box that Dad swears is in there.
"Hi, Dad, what are you doing tonight? I will make you dinner...oh, you don't eat dinner, well, how about breakfast? Oh, well, I will look in the engine and call you back when I get home."
So I get home, take apart big parts of my engine that don't look like they should be removable and find a big duct that has a fan at the end of it. Upon closer look, I find a dead mouse in there. So that's the little bugger stinking up my world. Couldn't he die someplace else? Scott gets home as I am donning the gloves to do the extraction and he says, "Let's suck him out", so he gets the shop vac out and sucks up the mouse. Done. I call Dad back. "We got him, the car is rodent-free." "Yeah, I knew that's where he'd be." "Well, Dad, that is why I called you. Thanks."
And I didn't invite the mice. There is nothing in my car except papers. And only a couple of days worth of mail.
And, by the way, there's another gopher.
Worry
Worry. Why do we do it? There are a million things to worry about and we are not supposed to "worry" about any of them. Webster's says, "To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret."
So we try not to worry, but when things start to go south, those of us who are prone to worrying start to do it. Then we have to pray to God that He will help us to get through the worry times.
Our house payment is going up $330 per month. Because of the escrow account. Stupid escrow account. And the people who estimated it wrong. They seem to assume that people have an extra few hundred dollars sitting around for just such an occasion. THEY ARE WRONG! So, the worrying sets in. How will we come up with the money, where else can we cut back? The car thing was great, saves a lot of gas, but we didn't find out until after we bought it that the VW takes PREMIUM! and the stupid salespeople didn't tell us that. We went in to the dealership to cut our gas expense and they sell us a car that runs on PREMIUM! So, the savings are not as great as anticipated, but still better than before. So now, we have to come up with more money for our house payment. So, I am lying in bed praying, worrying, "God, please help us, what are we supposed to do?" Please tell me what we should do!"
"HAVEN'T I TAKEN CARE OF YOU SO FAR?"
"Well, yeah, but what are we supposed to do NOW?"
"HAVE FAITH."
Okay, cool. So, now I know not to worry. But I already knew that. I just wasn't doing it. I am still wondering what to do, but I am trying really hard not to worry about it.
I bet God gets frustrated with us when we beg and plead for answers and when He does speak to us, we don't do what He says. No wonder He doesn't speak to us very often.
Hmmm. What next?
So we try not to worry, but when things start to go south, those of us who are prone to worrying start to do it. Then we have to pray to God that He will help us to get through the worry times.
Our house payment is going up $330 per month. Because of the escrow account. Stupid escrow account. And the people who estimated it wrong. They seem to assume that people have an extra few hundred dollars sitting around for just such an occasion. THEY ARE WRONG! So, the worrying sets in. How will we come up with the money, where else can we cut back? The car thing was great, saves a lot of gas, but we didn't find out until after we bought it that the VW takes PREMIUM! and the stupid salespeople didn't tell us that. We went in to the dealership to cut our gas expense and they sell us a car that runs on PREMIUM! So, the savings are not as great as anticipated, but still better than before. So now, we have to come up with more money for our house payment. So, I am lying in bed praying, worrying, "God, please help us, what are we supposed to do?" Please tell me what we should do!"
"HAVEN'T I TAKEN CARE OF YOU SO FAR?"
"Well, yeah, but what are we supposed to do NOW?"
"HAVE FAITH."
Okay, cool. So, now I know not to worry. But I already knew that. I just wasn't doing it. I am still wondering what to do, but I am trying really hard not to worry about it.
I bet God gets frustrated with us when we beg and plead for answers and when He does speak to us, we don't do what He says. No wonder He doesn't speak to us very often.
Hmmm. What next?
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The Nethercutt Collection
If you have never been to that big tall building in Sylmar (going north on the 405, just before you get to Roxford, look to your right, big yellow building, can't miss it), you need to go. It was so much fun! I made a reservation for Scott, Dad and myself and secured babysitting with my wonderful friend, Lana. This was for an early father's day present to the two of them. I didn't know if I would be able to get in closer to Father's Day, so I figured I would take what I could get. Well, I had been there about 15 years ago and always wanted to go back. They have done a lot since then. There are over 200 restored cars in the collection, housed in two buildings. You can get very close to the cars, as only about half of them have ropes around them. Bugattis, Duesenbergs, Model T's, Model A's, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Cadillacs Cunninghams, Cords, Hispano Suizas. Every kind of car you can imagine and some you can't! Electric steam engine cars that used very little gasoline and other things that we think are so "new" and creative, that they came up with 75 years ago. Nothing is new anymore. We spent about two hours looking at all of these, as well as a pullman rail car that was completely restored and a steam engine. They have hood ornaments for cars, a travel trailer from the 1920's, I think. It is so cool! And all this other stuff. My father car lover and husband car lover saw things they had never even heard of, let alone seen! Then we took the tour across the street at the original San Sylmar. Two levels of cars (including a 1933 Duesenberg SJ 20 Grand - one of a kind, because nobody had the "20 Grand" to spend on a car like this at the time) and then a bunch of other stuff. Mrs. Nethercutt's collections are here. More David Winter cottages than you even knew existed. A beautiful doll collection. Hummels. Crystal. Antique Louis the something furniture you can sit on! And the music collection. Oh, the music collection. It was amazing. They have a pipe organ like you have never seen or heard. And this huge organ that they have music concerts on. Several times per year and then they record it on the computer and the organ plays it back exactly the way the original performer did, mistakes and all. They have player pianos that play the paper roll music and a big huge music machine that plays 24 instruments at the same time. And you get to sit down and listen to them play! This is a very entertaining way to spend the day. And best of all,
It Is FREE to get in! You just need to make a reservation!
So, if you want to have a fun day out, go down there and see it. It is so worth the drive!
It Is FREE to get in! You just need to make a reservation!
So, if you want to have a fun day out, go down there and see it. It is so worth the drive!
Water Babies
The girls are in the bathroom every chance they get. No, not like teenagers, who go in the bathroom and lock the door and you don't see them for hours. They go into the bathroom, close the drain and then proceed to "wash" everything in reach. They take out the soap and scrub down the counters. They fill the sink up with water, put everything in it and play. They get water all over the counters, floor, everything. Then Scott and I have to go in there and clean up the mess. Which wouldn't be so bad, except we have the kind of sinks that have the raised edge and you can't just wipe the mess off into the sink. You have to get a towel out and mop it all up. Which is why they have been getting in trouble for this on a daily basis for the last several days. Scott went in the bathroom last night and stood in the doorway. Rebekah opens up the cupboard and stands on the shelf so she can reach the sink. So, Scott is standing there in the doorway looking at her. She looks up at him in the mirror, big brown eyes even bigger than normal. She has the sink partially filled with water and a toy in it. She hits the drain plug on the back of the faucet and says, "I'm not playing in the baffoom." Then proceeds to make a hasty retreat out of the bathroom. He could hardly contain himself. No punishment for the cute little girl with the big brown eyes. Some things you just gotta let go.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Cherry Picking Change
For those of you who work and would like to go cherry picking, bring the kids and a cup of coffee and we will go on Saturday, June 10 instead of Friday, June 9. Plan on being to the area about 9:00am. Let me know if you can make it. Will give more details as we get closer.
Another one bites the dust...
We caught gopher number two yesterday. Yeah for us. I am not normally so ruthless toward God's creatures, and I can see how gophers are good as far as irrigating the soil and such, but I can't help doing the little "I Won" cheer when I catch one. This one started in on my lawn and now I have two holes in my lawn. And I have been working so hard at that! So, he had to go. Set the trap with gloves again and Scott found him yesterday. So the score is Amy 2, Gophers 0. Plus, I don't want gopher snakes or rattlesnakes looking for lunch. Last year a mojave green rattlesnake got in our back yard and bit our then two month old german shepherd puppy. After close to $2000 of treatment, she was fine. The year before, my neighbors caught and killed a mojave green on my slope, right where the gophers are hanging around now. So I don't want to invite any more snakes into my yard.
I think the worst is over and now at least I know how to catch them. Hopefully this is not something that happens every year now. I wonder if they are attracted by all the flowers I worked so hard to plant this year...
I think the worst is over and now at least I know how to catch them. Hopefully this is not something that happens every year now. I wonder if they are attracted by all the flowers I worked so hard to plant this year...
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Cherry Season
So, cherry season is almost upon us and I have a list of people who want to go cherry picking this year. So I figured I'd put it on here and whoever wants to go with us when we go, can. Cherries should be ready either June 3 or June 10 this year. I will know more the closer we get. As warm as it has been, it just may be June 3. We will probably go on a couple of Fridays. So figure if they are available June 3, then we will go Monday, June 5 and also Fridays June 9, 16 and possibly the 23rd. I will find out soon what day they will open. Most of the places open on the same day. For anyone coming from Santa Clarita, you can take either San Francisquito Cyn and turn right on Elizabeth Lake Road or Bouquet Canyon and turn left on Elizabeth Lake Road and it will take you to 80th Street West, which is where most of the cherry orchards are off of. Except for one BIG new place that is a little further east. There are about 18 cherry orchards, some better than others. The earlier you get there, the cooler it will be. Tennis shoes or hiking boots, clothes you don't mind getting stained, in case they do. And a hat if you think you will need it. Sunscreen if you use it. And some paper bags and possibly a cooler to take your cherries home in. Oh, and cash to buy them with. They are sooooo good, sweet and yummy, you will want to pick a whole bunch! I have a bunch of cherry recipes, too, in case you don't know what to do with them.
If you are interested in going with us, let me know. Or if you want the info on where to go, so you can go on a Saturday or a Sunday, I can provide that to you.
If you are interested in going with us, let me know. Or if you want the info on where to go, so you can go on a Saturday or a Sunday, I can provide that to you.
Friends
I have been thinking about my friends lately. My friend in New Jersey - I talked with her the other day. She is thinking about moving to North Carolina. I have known her for 33 years. Wow, that is a long time to know someone considering I am only 29. Yeah. She has three boys, 6 1/2, 3 1/2, almost 2. She's done. She must be a saint! I don't know how she does it! When I speak with her on the phone, it doesn't seem that we haven't talked in ages, it seems as though I talked to her a week ago. She told me that a girl in our high school class died three months ago. Had five kids, four girls one boy ages 12 to 2. Brain tumor. How sad. I haven't been out of high school long enough for people to be dying already! I can't imagine what her kids are going through, though.
Another friend just announced she is pregnant. Eight weeks. I am SOOOOO happy for her, I can't contain myself. She has that "glow". It is not just a myth, people. She is radiantly beautiful. I am sure her husband thinks so as well. And I hope that we grow even closer, as now we will have one more thing in common. What fun!
Another friend is going to have a baby next week. She has been on bed rest because her blood pressure is too high. She, too, looks beautiful. Just totally at peace. She has a six year old son and she is having a baby girl. She wanted a girl. She has bought things for my girls on occasion because she just couldn't put down the cute little pink item. Well, now I have had a chance to buy her a few little pink things! She is a wonderful person and a joy to be with and I am so happy for her that she gets to have another baby.
I have a new friend. Jess and Bekah go to a gymnastics class and one of the mothers I found out lives on the street behind me. In the same house as me! They came to Jess and Bekah's birthday party. She is so nice! One of the nicest people you could meet. I hope that we become better friends.
My very good friend, who helped me with my gophers, took me to the dealership the other day to get the windows tinted, has watched my kids when I am in need and would do anything to help. She is one of the nicest people I know. I enjoy her company immensely and am so glad that we are friends. And she has a great laugh.
My dad is becoming a very good friend. We never spent much time together before, but we see him about once a week now. It is very nice. We can talk and laugh and joke and he is so much more relaxed now than ever before. And we have this gopher thing in common.
My sister-in-law's sister. She is always positive and upbeat. She always has a smile on her face. If you are feeling down, she is the one you want to have around. She has a three year old daughter with white blonde hair and she is so cute. Rebekah's best friend. They have a good time together and so do Mary and I.
My aunt, who reads this blog to get a laugh. So I write, hoping she will. I can't think about her without smiling. She is one of the most generous and genuinely nice people I know and especially since my mom passed away, I have become closer to her and I am glad she is in my life. She is a wonderful person.
There are other people I have become close to lately and I am so thankful that I have these people in my life. Aren't we blessed to have close friends that we can talk to, share with and that understand us? At different times in our lives we become close to different people and sometimes we don't talk to someone for a long time, but friends, unlike relatives, are chosen and they are the people who we spend time with because we want to. You can be yourself with your friends and they still like you! I thank God for all my very good friends.
Another friend just announced she is pregnant. Eight weeks. I am SOOOOO happy for her, I can't contain myself. She has that "glow". It is not just a myth, people. She is radiantly beautiful. I am sure her husband thinks so as well. And I hope that we grow even closer, as now we will have one more thing in common. What fun!
Another friend is going to have a baby next week. She has been on bed rest because her blood pressure is too high. She, too, looks beautiful. Just totally at peace. She has a six year old son and she is having a baby girl. She wanted a girl. She has bought things for my girls on occasion because she just couldn't put down the cute little pink item. Well, now I have had a chance to buy her a few little pink things! She is a wonderful person and a joy to be with and I am so happy for her that she gets to have another baby.
I have a new friend. Jess and Bekah go to a gymnastics class and one of the mothers I found out lives on the street behind me. In the same house as me! They came to Jess and Bekah's birthday party. She is so nice! One of the nicest people you could meet. I hope that we become better friends.
My very good friend, who helped me with my gophers, took me to the dealership the other day to get the windows tinted, has watched my kids when I am in need and would do anything to help. She is one of the nicest people I know. I enjoy her company immensely and am so glad that we are friends. And she has a great laugh.
My dad is becoming a very good friend. We never spent much time together before, but we see him about once a week now. It is very nice. We can talk and laugh and joke and he is so much more relaxed now than ever before. And we have this gopher thing in common.
My sister-in-law's sister. She is always positive and upbeat. She always has a smile on her face. If you are feeling down, she is the one you want to have around. She has a three year old daughter with white blonde hair and she is so cute. Rebekah's best friend. They have a good time together and so do Mary and I.
My aunt, who reads this blog to get a laugh. So I write, hoping she will. I can't think about her without smiling. She is one of the most generous and genuinely nice people I know and especially since my mom passed away, I have become closer to her and I am glad she is in my life. She is a wonderful person.
There are other people I have become close to lately and I am so thankful that I have these people in my life. Aren't we blessed to have close friends that we can talk to, share with and that understand us? At different times in our lives we become close to different people and sometimes we don't talk to someone for a long time, but friends, unlike relatives, are chosen and they are the people who we spend time with because we want to. You can be yourself with your friends and they still like you! I thank God for all my very good friends.
The Gopher
Okay, apparently what we have here is a pocket gopher. Other people's gophers are huge! This one is slightly larger than a hamster, but not as cute. Not really cute at all, when you get to see it up close, which we did when I pulled out a trap with the little bugger in it. Yeah! I got him! Scott was home that morning and I went out to check the traps. Not expecting to find anything. Well, the trap had been sprung, so I went back in the house and told him to come out and get it, "Cause I think I got a gopher!" So, he comes out and we both got to look at it. "What if it is just knocked unconscious?" So Scott smacks it on the head about five or six times with the big metal thing we had attached to the trap so it wouldn't run away. No, it's dead. But look at those claws and teeth! For such a little guy he had huge claws and teeth. Good thing I didn't have to deal with him while he was alive!
Jess came outside and we showed him to her. She went "Aaaaah!", then took a closer look. She's not afraid of this stuff!
Well, I reset the traps just in case and figured I was done. Then I came inside to announce to the blogging community that we had caught our gopher.
I wasn't. Yesterday I went out there to water and found a new patch of soft dirt. !#@*!@ gophers! Two new holes on the slope. SO, I set the trap in one of these and we'll hope for the best. My gopher troubles are here to stay...but I will get him eventually.
Scott watched a few minutes of Caddyshack last night on TV. It's funny when it is happening to someone else.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Me Vs. Mr. Gopher
Me vs. Mr. Gopher
Well, Mr. Gopher seems to be winning. I haven’t caught a single gopher. I have lots of new holes in my yard, though. I did get one of those sonic things. It beeps every 28 seconds. On Wednesday, Dad and I went to Lowe’s and he and I both got one. $19.95 each. Such a bargain…if it works. Dad has a gopher, too. His showed up about the same time mine did. His driveway circles in front of the house and there is an area in front of it that he has planted lilacs, pine trees, birch trees and flowers. He has bulbs and wildflowers there and he started to water it more lately. Here comes Mr. Gopher! He is happily setting up shop there. Pretty soon he’s going to bring home a wife, have babies and then they will put up the “Santa Stop Here” sign! Where does it all end?
So, Dad and I both got the sonic things and he put mine in before he left on Wednesday. Yesterday morning, I had two new holes on the slope and one next to the fence. He had eaten two gladiolus shoots, about six inches high and the new hole was right next to one of the eaten ones. Little bugger.
I went out yesterday afternoon and discovered that my irises are in bloom. Much more so than the tulips. So far the freesia and irises are doing the best. I have mostly the kind of irises that they put in flower arrangements. Not the big kind. Well, the first to bloom was the typical dark blue, yellow center. Yesterday I found a white with yellow center and a lavender with yellow center. Really pretty! And Mr. Gopher has not touched those. Yeah! Thank heaven for small miracles!
Speaking of miracles, Scott had gotten a ticket a couple of months ago. Running a stop sign and 70 in a 40. Problem is, this time he didn’t do it. He doesn’t run stop signs and he doesn’t go quite that fast. The officer came up behind him with lights flashing, at 4:30am, and Scott speeded up to get over so the maniac behind him flashing his high beams could get by. Well, it was the Sheriff and he pulled him over for speeding. Go figure. So, he paid the fine and pleaded not guilty. His court date was yesterday and we were praying that everything would go well. God listened and the deputy didn’t show up! So the case was dismissed. Yeah! Praise God! We will get the money back and, believe me, it was a lot of money! Thank heaven for big miracles!
So, anyway, we shall see if there is any new gopher activity today. I pulled one of the traps and the other one is still set, but I haven’t caught any gophers. Well, the only good part of that is that I haven’t had to clean out any traps!
Dad hasn’t caught any yet either. He said he set traps, but they haven’t used his either. Well, he was sitting on his front porch yesterday, waiting for UPS to arrive (picture the two old guys from Secondhand Lions – great movie, highly recommend!), when the gopher sticks his head out of the hole! So Dad goes and gets his shotgun and puts some kind of little tiny shot in there and shoots at the gopher. He doesn’t know if he got it or not, but I guess if the gopher doesn’t come back, then he did. So, dad is using the traps, sonic thing and shotgun. I don’t think I put shotgun on my top ten list, but maybe it will end up being up near the top of the list!
See, it is a good thing he lives in the mountains. The city couldn’t handle him! You gotta love a person that goes after a gopher with a shotgun!
My gopher (getting kind of possessive, I know) so far is only interested in destroying my yard. I would love to hire a professional, however, it is not in the budget right now. Unfortunately. I am trying to cut corners everywhere and I can’t spend money to have the little buggers eradicated. Hopefully I don’t regret that one.
The other thing I did on Wednesday was to mow my lawn. I never mowed a lawn before. Dad pulled the spark plug from the lawnmower and it was wet. He held it over the flame on the stove and I guess that dries it out. Well, we got the mower started. Apparently it wasn’t working right when my mother in law had it. They couldn’t get it to stay on. The part that sucks up the grass was blocked and the sparkplug was wet. Anyway, so we got it running and I pushed it around the front yard. It looked so nice! I was so proud of myself! It was hard to do, though. Dad told me at first to go from the bottom of the yard to the top and then we decided side to side would make more sense because it was hard to push from the bottom! Well, I also did the bottom of the slope on the side of the house. That was hard work! I couldn’t do any more. I brought the mower back to the driveway and Dad started the mower up again, I’m not sure why. Well, that is when he realized I hadn’t been holding onto the bar underneath the handle. The one that makes it go forward by itself. I was pushing the entire weight of the mower myself! No wonder I could not also push it sideways on the slope! I sure got my exercise, though! It was much easier to do once he showed me that! Well, I was so tired after mowing that I sat down with a drink and Dad had a beer. I won’t drink the stuff, but it sure seemed like someone ought to have a beer after mowing the lawn. Dad was happy to accommodate me! Good thing he was there!
Can’t wait to see what damage this little guy has caused today. He seems to only work at night. Must be underground during the day. Busy little thing. Go do your digging in someone else’s yard! Can’t you see you aren’t welcome here? Go away! Leave my yard alone. Or I am going to come after your little furry butt!
Oh, yeah and the dried fox urine, apparently they have foxes in cages with a sloped floor and when they urinate, it rolls downhill into this little collection thing and then they bottle it! I guess it crystallizes or something. Thank you, internet!
The dried blood you can get at Lowe's in a like gallon size container. It doesn't say what type of blood it is (type O or AB or just plain old A) or what type of animal it comes from. It does come from Washington State. Really, I am not making this stuff up! Sounds like one of those old gimmicks where the guy sells the elixir from the back of his wagon for like $2 a bottle (such a deal!) and you are stuck with a bottle of stuff that doesn't do anything. What are they called?
Well, Mr. Gopher seems to be winning. I haven’t caught a single gopher. I have lots of new holes in my yard, though. I did get one of those sonic things. It beeps every 28 seconds. On Wednesday, Dad and I went to Lowe’s and he and I both got one. $19.95 each. Such a bargain…if it works. Dad has a gopher, too. His showed up about the same time mine did. His driveway circles in front of the house and there is an area in front of it that he has planted lilacs, pine trees, birch trees and flowers. He has bulbs and wildflowers there and he started to water it more lately. Here comes Mr. Gopher! He is happily setting up shop there. Pretty soon he’s going to bring home a wife, have babies and then they will put up the “Santa Stop Here” sign! Where does it all end?
So, Dad and I both got the sonic things and he put mine in before he left on Wednesday. Yesterday morning, I had two new holes on the slope and one next to the fence. He had eaten two gladiolus shoots, about six inches high and the new hole was right next to one of the eaten ones. Little bugger.
I went out yesterday afternoon and discovered that my irises are in bloom. Much more so than the tulips. So far the freesia and irises are doing the best. I have mostly the kind of irises that they put in flower arrangements. Not the big kind. Well, the first to bloom was the typical dark blue, yellow center. Yesterday I found a white with yellow center and a lavender with yellow center. Really pretty! And Mr. Gopher has not touched those. Yeah! Thank heaven for small miracles!
Speaking of miracles, Scott had gotten a ticket a couple of months ago. Running a stop sign and 70 in a 40. Problem is, this time he didn’t do it. He doesn’t run stop signs and he doesn’t go quite that fast. The officer came up behind him with lights flashing, at 4:30am, and Scott speeded up to get over so the maniac behind him flashing his high beams could get by. Well, it was the Sheriff and he pulled him over for speeding. Go figure. So, he paid the fine and pleaded not guilty. His court date was yesterday and we were praying that everything would go well. God listened and the deputy didn’t show up! So the case was dismissed. Yeah! Praise God! We will get the money back and, believe me, it was a lot of money! Thank heaven for big miracles!
So, anyway, we shall see if there is any new gopher activity today. I pulled one of the traps and the other one is still set, but I haven’t caught any gophers. Well, the only good part of that is that I haven’t had to clean out any traps!
Dad hasn’t caught any yet either. He said he set traps, but they haven’t used his either. Well, he was sitting on his front porch yesterday, waiting for UPS to arrive (picture the two old guys from Secondhand Lions – great movie, highly recommend!), when the gopher sticks his head out of the hole! So Dad goes and gets his shotgun and puts some kind of little tiny shot in there and shoots at the gopher. He doesn’t know if he got it or not, but I guess if the gopher doesn’t come back, then he did. So, dad is using the traps, sonic thing and shotgun. I don’t think I put shotgun on my top ten list, but maybe it will end up being up near the top of the list!
See, it is a good thing he lives in the mountains. The city couldn’t handle him! You gotta love a person that goes after a gopher with a shotgun!
My gopher (getting kind of possessive, I know) so far is only interested in destroying my yard. I would love to hire a professional, however, it is not in the budget right now. Unfortunately. I am trying to cut corners everywhere and I can’t spend money to have the little buggers eradicated. Hopefully I don’t regret that one.
The other thing I did on Wednesday was to mow my lawn. I never mowed a lawn before. Dad pulled the spark plug from the lawnmower and it was wet. He held it over the flame on the stove and I guess that dries it out. Well, we got the mower started. Apparently it wasn’t working right when my mother in law had it. They couldn’t get it to stay on. The part that sucks up the grass was blocked and the sparkplug was wet. Anyway, so we got it running and I pushed it around the front yard. It looked so nice! I was so proud of myself! It was hard to do, though. Dad told me at first to go from the bottom of the yard to the top and then we decided side to side would make more sense because it was hard to push from the bottom! Well, I also did the bottom of the slope on the side of the house. That was hard work! I couldn’t do any more. I brought the mower back to the driveway and Dad started the mower up again, I’m not sure why. Well, that is when he realized I hadn’t been holding onto the bar underneath the handle. The one that makes it go forward by itself. I was pushing the entire weight of the mower myself! No wonder I could not also push it sideways on the slope! I sure got my exercise, though! It was much easier to do once he showed me that! Well, I was so tired after mowing that I sat down with a drink and Dad had a beer. I won’t drink the stuff, but it sure seemed like someone ought to have a beer after mowing the lawn. Dad was happy to accommodate me! Good thing he was there!
Can’t wait to see what damage this little guy has caused today. He seems to only work at night. Must be underground during the day. Busy little thing. Go do your digging in someone else’s yard! Can’t you see you aren’t welcome here? Go away! Leave my yard alone. Or I am going to come after your little furry butt!
Oh, yeah and the dried fox urine, apparently they have foxes in cages with a sloped floor and when they urinate, it rolls downhill into this little collection thing and then they bottle it! I guess it crystallizes or something. Thank you, internet!
The dried blood you can get at Lowe's in a like gallon size container. It doesn't say what type of blood it is (type O or AB or just plain old A) or what type of animal it comes from. It does come from Washington State. Really, I am not making this stuff up! Sounds like one of those old gimmicks where the guy sells the elixir from the back of his wagon for like $2 a bottle (such a deal!) and you are stuck with a bottle of stuff that doesn't do anything. What are they called?
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Cool Site
WheresGeorge.com
You can put the serial numbers from your money in there and track where it goes around the world (or around town). Pretty cool.
You can put the serial numbers from your money in there and track where it goes around the world (or around town). Pretty cool.
Can't get me down
Rebekah just got up.
"I got mine Elmo and I got mine horsey."
I picked her up and said "And you got your mommy."
She looked at me so matter-of-factly and said, "You are too big for me to hold!"
So, ha on you, stupid gophers. I can still be happy.
"I got mine Elmo and I got mine horsey."
I picked her up and said "And you got your mommy."
She looked at me so matter-of-factly and said, "You are too big for me to hold!"
So, ha on you, stupid gophers. I can still be happy.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Caddyshack Part Two (or *!#*@!* gophers!)
They're mocking me.Okay, my yard looks like crap. Huge mounds of dirt all over the slope. I went out there this morning to find three new holes. I moved the trap from one place to the other, only to find the little bugger had blocked the hole in front of the trap. So the trap didn't do anything. To make me feel even more frustrated, my friend who came over to help me set the traps set one in her front yard this morning and caught one today. Apparently I have the more intelligent gophers, while hers don't understand that they can circumvent the traps. I put one trap on the slope and then moved it to another location later because there was a fresh hole right next to the chewed-down-to-the-dirt gladiolus. (side note: I thought these things ate the roots. They aren't supposed to eat the plants from the TOP!) Well, he went around the first hole and dug another hole within 4 inches of the first one. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE FIRST BLEEPING HOLE? I had taken the trap out of it before he made the new hole!
Went to Lowe's and got a different trap. Couldn't figure out how to use it and it didn't come with instructions.
Hubby came home. Sat down for a while to figure out the trap. No luck. This one didn't come with directions and cost $8 something. The other ones were two for $10, but they don't catch gophers, so what difference does it make. No bargain on either of them. Took it back to Lowe's along with the Castor Oil granules (said for moles, not gophers, so hubby said take it back). SO, now what?
6am - Went out there with Scott at 4:30am. No gophers. Well, they are there, just not in the traps. I must have gophers with PHD's! Two new holes next to the tomato plants. Gonna try flooding them out. Sister in law said that worked for them. Then they sat and waited and popped em with a BB gun. Can't do that. The neighbors would complain. Hmmm. Lady up the street said they used ultrasonic things in the ground and they went away. Yeah, they came to MY house.
This sucks. I am being totally proactive, but they just won't get in the darned traps. Perfectly good holes, and they make new ones next to them! Are they just bored or are they doing it to spite me? So, here is my top ten list of ways to get rid of gophers and, this will change order depending on what ends up working:
10. Dried blood
9. Poison
8. Dried fox urine
7. Castor Oil
6. Stupid trap we couldn't figure out and took back
5. Propane (but how do you get it in there?)
4. Water flood
3. Hose attached to car exhaust pipe and other end in hole
2. Flares
1. Stupid trap we could figure out but doesn't work
How many new holes will there be today? How many plants are eaten today? I need to get more traps. They aren't working. I need a new plan. I am losing sleep at night . Dumb gophers. Smart gophers. Dumb person. Smart person? I will be when I figure it out. Then they'll be sorry...
Beginning to know exactly how Bill Murray felt in CS. This is all-consuming. Don't want to go anywhere in case the trap ends up working. No, I do want to go get more traps and put them in front of every stinking hole they made.
And from what I hear, a lot of people have gopher stories. Feel free to share...
Caddyshack and Pink Eye
My yard is looking so nice. Blue wildflowers dancing in the breeze every morning. If you don't get up early enough, you will miss them. They only last a few hours. Pastel blue, quarter size flowers with paper-like petals that float away before noon. Beautiful. Two tulips have come and gone, the rest have not yet bloomed. One deep red, the other a pale, soft pink. I just love tulips. One iris, the small kind that come in flower arrangements, deep dark purple with the yellow streak in the center, with the petals forming in three distinct directions. My freesia are all in bloom. Yellow, bright as sun and purple, with a soft white center. Gladiolus starting to shoot out of the ground. Strawberries all in bloom, promising of a delicious crop of large, luscious red berries. Tomato plants with dainty little yellow blooms that will turn into dark red globes. My lawn is starting to turn a dark green. The weed and feed didn't seem to affect the surrounding plants and I fired the gardener. I asked him to come twice a month instead of every week and he said it would be ten dollars a month less. Such a deal! So, we got the lawnmower back from my mother in law and I will attempt to mow the lawn. Heaven help me! It has to be fixed first, so the hubby is working on that.
So, I have been enjoying days of warm breezes and beautiful sunshine when, out of nowhere, I find this big pile of soft dirt on the slope where the wildflowers are in front of the house. I start to sift through the dirt with my hands and there's nothing there. I am a little concerned, because I think maybe something is living there. Then again, it could be the kids who get off the bus at the corner and pick the flowers. Well, just one dirt pile, but a rather large one. I will keep my eye on it. So, Saturday night, I was outside watering the plants and I look up at the front porch to see this small, hamster-like creature with a stubby tail scurrying away from the corner of my front porch. It runs across the front porch to the other side. I am about ten feet away. I yell for hubby and he comes out of the house, finally, and by this time the little critter has run again through a little tiny hole, about one inch wide, two inches long in the bottom of the plastic fence next to the house. Gone. Into the backyard I assumed. Little bugger. So, now, it's confirmed. I have at least one gopher. So the next step is to get traps. So, Saturday night, I start thinking about the small rodent who is going to wreak havoc on my work in progress. My first real attempt at creating a nice yard. I tossed and turned all night. Didn't help that it was warm in the house and I couldn't sleep. Every time I turned and woke up, I was thinking about this little monster that was going to have a habitrail under my yard. Sixteen feet an hour is what they can supposedly tunnel. And once the tunnels are dug, they can travel something like seventy five feet a minute. That is impressive. So, I am lying in bed thinking about all the mounds I am going to have all over my yard, this little furry creep pulling my bulbs from the roots and chomping down on all my pretty flowers. I got up at 12:30am Sunday morning and looked up "how to get rid of gophers" on the internet. There are all kinds of things. Traps, castor oil spray, sonic repellers, high frequency repellers, dried blood, poison granules, dried granulated fox urine. This is big business. And a lot for my 2am head to take in. So, I attempted to return to bed, only now I was thinking of all the ways I could eradicate this little sucker. I woke up Sunday morning feeling mentally challenged. Not ready to face the day. Not ready to face the gopher. Feeling like he was going to win the battle.
Sunday after church the plan was to go get gopher stuff. Everything. Try it, see if it works. Well, that didn't happen. We decided to stop at the VW dealership to see what they had and if replacing the seventeen mile per gallon Suburban with a smaller vehicle would make sense. I guess it must have made sense. After five hours at the car dealership watching little girls run around collecting balloons, you will soon see the fruits of our labors. 32 miles per gallon is much more respectable. Almost double. That should save a large chunk of change. More money to buy gopher trapping paraphernalia. So, needless to say, we didn't get to home depot on Sunday. So, Monday morning I go outside and there are two more mounds of soft dirt next to the larger one and another along the bottom of my plastic fence that is about three feet wide. Just inches away from where he went under the fence. I use the word "he" but it may not BE a he. So, since the gopher has been busy at work, I figure it is time for me to step up to the plate. So, I call my friend who has a large piece of horse property. About two acres. Dirt in the back, grass and flowers in the front.
"Hi, I need to pick your brain for a minute. Have you ever had gophers?"
Oh, yeah!
How did you get rid of them?
Traps, it is the only thing that works.
Really?
Yeah, then you know for sure you got 'em. You don't have to wonder if they are still out there. But the hard part is setting the traps. They are a real pain to set if you don't know what you are doing.
Great. So, what, you just pick up the trap and throw it away like a mousetrap?
No, you can't throw it away, they are like ten dollars!
Oh, dear, you mean I have to get it off of there?
Uh huh. (laughing)
So, the spray and the sonic things don't work?
No, nothing else worked for us besides the traps. But you have to attach a wire to it and a pole or something otherwise it will take off with the trap attached.
Okay....So, umm, are you going to be around tomorrow? 'Cause I might need to call you. I am on my way to Home Depot now to get this stuff.
So, I go to Home Depot and find the traps. $10 for two. Such a deal. Hmmm, maybe I could just throw it away after....
We get the stuff home and Scott is busy attaching wire and such. He got this huge thing that supposedly screws into the ground. It is about a foot and a half long. So, he is trying to set the trap. Don't get your fingers in there! Warning on the box reads in part, "...Keep traps away from children and anyone not familiar with their use." That would be ME! Scott's mumbling that the instructions read like stereo instructions. Great.
"Hi, umm, you said you were going to be in and out tomorrow, right?"
Yeah, why?
Well, you know what they say about a friend in need.
(laughing)
We just bought the traps and...
(speaking to her husband) Is it okay if I run over to Amy's for a minute? They just got the gopher traps....I will be over in a few minutes.
Coooool! Thanks. I will see you then.
Turn oven with leftovers in it down to 225 degrees. Continue watching hubby try to figure this out.
Well, between the two of them, they figured them out. Turns out our traps are different than hers. But, hubby did eventually figure it out. Yeah, hubby. We took them outside and my wonderful friend poked around in the dirt a bit and very quickly found the hole! I looked for the longest time and found nothing. Oh well, she has the experience. Anyway, so we put the trap in the one hole and decided to look up near the fence for the other one. Well, it was there all right. But in the backyard. A den or nest-like hole with tons of weeds and grass stuffed inside. My dear friend (did I mention how great she is?) stuck her hand inside to clear it out so we could put the trap in and kept pulling out ALL THIS STUFF! So, like I said, the he might not be a he after all. Anyway, so she was able to get the other trap in this hole and we are "set", no pun intended. Okay, it was intended.
So, before I went to bed, I went out there with a flashlight. No gophers. I went out with Scott before he left for work at 4:30am. No gophers. Now it is 5:30. I will check again in a few hours. Won't you all be anxiously awaiting the outcome? My dear, sweet friend, the Gopher Catcher Extraordinaire, said she has caught about 15-20 of these little critters. I would just be happy if there are no new mounds in my yard. So, I know you will want to come back for Caddyshack Part II.
Oh, yeah, and my sweet little blue eyed girl has pink eye. She started rubbing her eyes last night. Poor little thing. Don't know where she got it, but now she has it and we will just have to wait for that to go away. Bummer. She's not too happy about that. Hopefully, her sister doesn't get it, too.
Will keep you posted on the gophers...
So, I have been enjoying days of warm breezes and beautiful sunshine when, out of nowhere, I find this big pile of soft dirt on the slope where the wildflowers are in front of the house. I start to sift through the dirt with my hands and there's nothing there. I am a little concerned, because I think maybe something is living there. Then again, it could be the kids who get off the bus at the corner and pick the flowers. Well, just one dirt pile, but a rather large one. I will keep my eye on it. So, Saturday night, I was outside watering the plants and I look up at the front porch to see this small, hamster-like creature with a stubby tail scurrying away from the corner of my front porch. It runs across the front porch to the other side. I am about ten feet away. I yell for hubby and he comes out of the house, finally, and by this time the little critter has run again through a little tiny hole, about one inch wide, two inches long in the bottom of the plastic fence next to the house. Gone. Into the backyard I assumed. Little bugger. So, now, it's confirmed. I have at least one gopher. So the next step is to get traps. So, Saturday night, I start thinking about the small rodent who is going to wreak havoc on my work in progress. My first real attempt at creating a nice yard. I tossed and turned all night. Didn't help that it was warm in the house and I couldn't sleep. Every time I turned and woke up, I was thinking about this little monster that was going to have a habitrail under my yard. Sixteen feet an hour is what they can supposedly tunnel. And once the tunnels are dug, they can travel something like seventy five feet a minute. That is impressive. So, I am lying in bed thinking about all the mounds I am going to have all over my yard, this little furry creep pulling my bulbs from the roots and chomping down on all my pretty flowers. I got up at 12:30am Sunday morning and looked up "how to get rid of gophers" on the internet. There are all kinds of things. Traps, castor oil spray, sonic repellers, high frequency repellers, dried blood, poison granules, dried granulated fox urine. This is big business. And a lot for my 2am head to take in. So, I attempted to return to bed, only now I was thinking of all the ways I could eradicate this little sucker. I woke up Sunday morning feeling mentally challenged. Not ready to face the day. Not ready to face the gopher. Feeling like he was going to win the battle.
Sunday after church the plan was to go get gopher stuff. Everything. Try it, see if it works. Well, that didn't happen. We decided to stop at the VW dealership to see what they had and if replacing the seventeen mile per gallon Suburban with a smaller vehicle would make sense. I guess it must have made sense. After five hours at the car dealership watching little girls run around collecting balloons, you will soon see the fruits of our labors. 32 miles per gallon is much more respectable. Almost double. That should save a large chunk of change. More money to buy gopher trapping paraphernalia. So, needless to say, we didn't get to home depot on Sunday. So, Monday morning I go outside and there are two more mounds of soft dirt next to the larger one and another along the bottom of my plastic fence that is about three feet wide. Just inches away from where he went under the fence. I use the word "he" but it may not BE a he. So, since the gopher has been busy at work, I figure it is time for me to step up to the plate. So, I call my friend who has a large piece of horse property. About two acres. Dirt in the back, grass and flowers in the front.
"Hi, I need to pick your brain for a minute. Have you ever had gophers?"
Oh, yeah!
How did you get rid of them?
Traps, it is the only thing that works.
Really?
Yeah, then you know for sure you got 'em. You don't have to wonder if they are still out there. But the hard part is setting the traps. They are a real pain to set if you don't know what you are doing.
Great. So, what, you just pick up the trap and throw it away like a mousetrap?
No, you can't throw it away, they are like ten dollars!
Oh, dear, you mean I have to get it off of there?
Uh huh. (laughing)
So, the spray and the sonic things don't work?
No, nothing else worked for us besides the traps. But you have to attach a wire to it and a pole or something otherwise it will take off with the trap attached.
Okay....So, umm, are you going to be around tomorrow? 'Cause I might need to call you. I am on my way to Home Depot now to get this stuff.
So, I go to Home Depot and find the traps. $10 for two. Such a deal. Hmmm, maybe I could just throw it away after....
We get the stuff home and Scott is busy attaching wire and such. He got this huge thing that supposedly screws into the ground. It is about a foot and a half long. So, he is trying to set the trap. Don't get your fingers in there! Warning on the box reads in part, "...Keep traps away from children and anyone not familiar with their use." That would be ME! Scott's mumbling that the instructions read like stereo instructions. Great.
"Hi, umm, you said you were going to be in and out tomorrow, right?"
Yeah, why?
Well, you know what they say about a friend in need.
(laughing)
We just bought the traps and...
(speaking to her husband) Is it okay if I run over to Amy's for a minute? They just got the gopher traps....I will be over in a few minutes.
Coooool! Thanks. I will see you then.
Turn oven with leftovers in it down to 225 degrees. Continue watching hubby try to figure this out.
Well, between the two of them, they figured them out. Turns out our traps are different than hers. But, hubby did eventually figure it out. Yeah, hubby. We took them outside and my wonderful friend poked around in the dirt a bit and very quickly found the hole! I looked for the longest time and found nothing. Oh well, she has the experience. Anyway, so we put the trap in the one hole and decided to look up near the fence for the other one. Well, it was there all right. But in the backyard. A den or nest-like hole with tons of weeds and grass stuffed inside. My dear friend (did I mention how great she is?) stuck her hand inside to clear it out so we could put the trap in and kept pulling out ALL THIS STUFF! So, like I said, the he might not be a he after all. Anyway, so she was able to get the other trap in this hole and we are "set", no pun intended. Okay, it was intended.
So, before I went to bed, I went out there with a flashlight. No gophers. I went out with Scott before he left for work at 4:30am. No gophers. Now it is 5:30. I will check again in a few hours. Won't you all be anxiously awaiting the outcome? My dear, sweet friend, the Gopher Catcher Extraordinaire, said she has caught about 15-20 of these little critters. I would just be happy if there are no new mounds in my yard. So, I know you will want to come back for Caddyshack Part II.
Oh, yeah, and my sweet little blue eyed girl has pink eye. She started rubbing her eyes last night. Poor little thing. Don't know where she got it, but now she has it and we will just have to wait for that to go away. Bummer. She's not too happy about that. Hopefully, her sister doesn't get it, too.
Will keep you posted on the gophers...
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Part of the Revolution
Well, we have finally joined the internet revolution. DSL is not available at my house, but we have a cablemodem and we are now online! Yeah, no more dialup. Gee, I'm gonna miss waiting 5 minutes for my email to come up...
So, now we are going to be able to do things in the internet, like download stuff, upload stuff, etc. without it taking half the day.
I guess I have a little catching up to do.
My yard looks nice. Green grass coming in after a cold winter, wild flowers blooming, everything starting to look really colorful. My strawberry plants are in full bloom (that means lots of yummy strawberries!) and my flowering bushes and plants are all about to explode. I spent yesterday using the drop spreader on the lawn with weed and feed and ammonium sulfate to green it up. If it doesn't kill it, it should work. Never done this before. And part of this job was pushing this thing sideways on the slope on the side of our house. Wow, I never imagined it would be so strenuous to push a wheeled trough sideways on a hill. That was quite a workout. But, I figured, if the gardener can do it (and he never shows up when he is supposed to), then so can I. And I can do it when it isn't windy (three days per year), so it won't kill all my flowers in the process. Last time he put the weed and feed on it, all the plants on the perimeter of the lawn died! Let's hope I did a better job.
Looking forward to the girls' birthday party on Sunday. My house is not yet cleaned up. I guess I will do the 24 hour marathon clean the day before....or something. I will never be confused with Martha Stewart!
Hope all you all in cyberspace are doing well. Now that I can get on here faster, I will try to post more often. Plus, I can be on the internet without worrying about anyone trying to call. Isn't High Speed Internet wonderful?
So, now we are going to be able to do things in the internet, like download stuff, upload stuff, etc. without it taking half the day.
I guess I have a little catching up to do.
My yard looks nice. Green grass coming in after a cold winter, wild flowers blooming, everything starting to look really colorful. My strawberry plants are in full bloom (that means lots of yummy strawberries!) and my flowering bushes and plants are all about to explode. I spent yesterday using the drop spreader on the lawn with weed and feed and ammonium sulfate to green it up. If it doesn't kill it, it should work. Never done this before. And part of this job was pushing this thing sideways on the slope on the side of our house. Wow, I never imagined it would be so strenuous to push a wheeled trough sideways on a hill. That was quite a workout. But, I figured, if the gardener can do it (and he never shows up when he is supposed to), then so can I. And I can do it when it isn't windy (three days per year), so it won't kill all my flowers in the process. Last time he put the weed and feed on it, all the plants on the perimeter of the lawn died! Let's hope I did a better job.
Looking forward to the girls' birthday party on Sunday. My house is not yet cleaned up. I guess I will do the 24 hour marathon clean the day before....or something. I will never be confused with Martha Stewart!
Hope all you all in cyberspace are doing well. Now that I can get on here faster, I will try to post more often. Plus, I can be on the internet without worrying about anyone trying to call. Isn't High Speed Internet wonderful?
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