A
Anonymous
Guest
About 5 years ago, Alice and I decided that we had had enough of Victoria and we set our minds to finding a new place to live. After searching around, we finally decided that the Inonoaklin Valley would be pretty much ideal. Victoria had become too busy, too large and our lives had taken a turn wherein a slow place would be perfect. My wife has rheumatoid arthritis and the dryer climate would help her symptoms. I had just undergone a series of small operations and felt that the change would be perfect.
We bought this nice piece of acreage right on the river with a 1500 square foot log house , full basement, barns, etc. No one had lived in it for a time so, although it was untidy, the potential showed through and we fell in love with it immediately. Rather than make the move in one fell swoop, we would come up here with a truckload of possessions, stay fror a week or two, go back to Victoria, see the docs, do whatever business was required, and in a month or 6 weeks, come back up.
On the first such trip, we came in , surveyed our new home, had a glass of wine, and set to unloading the truck. On one of the trips to the basement, I smelled it. Not a skunk [although pretty darn close on aroma], but a packrat. If you have had no experience with these animals, consider yourselves fortunate. They are destructive, smelly creatures who , given time, could make any house unliveable. So we turned the dogs [Jack Russells] into the basement figuring that , if they diid not get it, then they would scare it away.
That evening, we retired to bed; but not before I set a few live traps out to catch it.. We were happily asleep when the dogs must have heard a trap go off. They went ballistic at our bedroom door [yes we let them sleep in our room!!!]. Alice woke me up and mentioned that she thought she had heard the trap sping as well. Dutifully, I got up an staggered off to the basement, with to dogs at my heels. At this time I was on a morphine pain killer as a result of the operations I mentioned so my judgement was,'clouded' at best
I got to the basement door, sans dogs [Alice had called them back] and found that , yes indeedy, there was a packrat in the trap. What to do?? Well, in my befuddled state, I figured that I would take it outside and let the dogs have it. Up the stairs to the outside door. By the way, did I forget to mention that We sleep in the alltogether. Well we do and now I have opened the outside door, only to be greeted by -5 degree weather. At this point the dogs explode out of the inner door into the house and are leaping like amphetamine-laced pirhanna fish at the cage I am so carefully holding the cage away from my body.
I head out into the -5 yard,stark nekkid, carrying this cage at arms length with the dogs getting progressively crazier and jumping up. You can see where this is going, I am certain. One jumped up, raked its claws down my body,and down the series of staples I had in me at that time [they ran from my naval down to my, uhm....well south anyway]. Sounded like a huge zipper opening. Then the claws caught an area that is very sensitive.. Alice was just howling with laughter, tears running down her face. I had tears too but for a different reason. I almost[!!!!] dropped the cage but managed to hold on enough to get the door of it open.
Finally got the cage open, the dogs had their prize, I had my pain and Alice had her joke.
<img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
Well it is funny now...But at the time>>>>> <img src="/metal/html/biggrin.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=""> <img src="/metal/html/biggrin.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
all the best
M
We bought this nice piece of acreage right on the river with a 1500 square foot log house , full basement, barns, etc. No one had lived in it for a time so, although it was untidy, the potential showed through and we fell in love with it immediately. Rather than make the move in one fell swoop, we would come up here with a truckload of possessions, stay fror a week or two, go back to Victoria, see the docs, do whatever business was required, and in a month or 6 weeks, come back up.
On the first such trip, we came in , surveyed our new home, had a glass of wine, and set to unloading the truck. On one of the trips to the basement, I smelled it. Not a skunk [although pretty darn close on aroma], but a packrat. If you have had no experience with these animals, consider yourselves fortunate. They are destructive, smelly creatures who , given time, could make any house unliveable. So we turned the dogs [Jack Russells] into the basement figuring that , if they diid not get it, then they would scare it away.
That evening, we retired to bed; but not before I set a few live traps out to catch it.. We were happily asleep when the dogs must have heard a trap go off. They went ballistic at our bedroom door [yes we let them sleep in our room!!!]. Alice woke me up and mentioned that she thought she had heard the trap sping as well. Dutifully, I got up an staggered off to the basement, with to dogs at my heels. At this time I was on a morphine pain killer as a result of the operations I mentioned so my judgement was,'clouded' at best
I got to the basement door, sans dogs [Alice had called them back] and found that , yes indeedy, there was a packrat in the trap. What to do?? Well, in my befuddled state, I figured that I would take it outside and let the dogs have it. Up the stairs to the outside door. By the way, did I forget to mention that We sleep in the alltogether. Well we do and now I have opened the outside door, only to be greeted by -5 degree weather. At this point the dogs explode out of the inner door into the house and are leaping like amphetamine-laced pirhanna fish at the cage I am so carefully holding the cage away from my body.
I head out into the -5 yard,stark nekkid, carrying this cage at arms length with the dogs getting progressively crazier and jumping up. You can see where this is going, I am certain. One jumped up, raked its claws down my body,and down the series of staples I had in me at that time [they ran from my naval down to my, uhm....well south anyway]. Sounded like a huge zipper opening. Then the claws caught an area that is very sensitive.. Alice was just howling with laughter, tears running down her face. I had tears too but for a different reason. I almost[!!!!] dropped the cage but managed to hold on enough to get the door of it open.
Finally got the cage open, the dogs had their prize, I had my pain and Alice had her joke.
<img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">Well it is funny now...But at the time>>>>> <img src="/metal/html/biggrin.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="
"> <img src="/metal/html/biggrin.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">all the best
M