Now, here's the issue. Mr. Christmas (aka Jim) decided to wrap red lights around the 2 somewhat tall cedars. Nice. Except for Dexster and the furry family members pulling down and nibbling on the lower branches. Would they receive a shock? Not likely, but who wants to take down broken light strings in frigid temperatures...not Mr. Christmas (or me for that matter). So, what's the solution? Feed the dam things, of course. I hardly had given this solution much thought when Mr. Christmas walked in carrying a large bag of deer food...a mixture of oats, twigs and sunflower seeds. Now, 6 weeks later, we have all gained a little weight. The humans from my holiday baking and the deer from their daily dose of grains.
Is Dexster and his tag along the only visitors this holiday season? Heck no! Just prior to Christmas and our anticipated visit from our son and daughter-in-law, we discovered Hubert...the mouse. He must have been in the basement for a very short time as droppings were no where to be seen except for the shower. Yes, the shower. Must be our goooood tasting water. Out came the trap and peanut butter. Placed ever so carefully beside the shower, Hubert was trapped within the hour. What a feisty little thing. Releasing him back into the cold was the only option. We are a no kill household. Jim carried Hubert to the front ditch and watched as Hubert scampered into the deep snow.
Whew...lucky for us. Our son and daughter-in-law were to spend their nights in the lower level of the house and sharing the space with a mouse was not an option. My relief was short lived. Low and behold, the very next morning, what do we see in the shower? Yes, Hubert was back. In fact, it had snowed lightly the night before and we could actually see his tracks in the snow from the ditch right back to the garage. What a bugger! Out came the trap and the peanut butter. Here we go again. Within the hour, Hubert was once again trapped. What to do next. Jim was getting somewhat attached to this little creature...this worried me, so while Jim relaxed in the tub, I woke my daughter with a certain catch and release adventure. She would be the driver. This time we would take Hubert to the railway tracks. No way he could find his way back from that location. Being safe than sorry, I covered the trap (so he couldn't see anything) and off we went into the cold car and night. Arriving at the tracks and just down the street from our house, I released Hubert.
Back at the house, Jim's plan for Hubert was quite different. Sad that his new found 'pet' was gone, he quickly shared his thought of maybe buying a cage and keeping Hubert. Not likely.
