Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Howling

It blew. It rained. It poured and poured and poured and blew. It howled. The skies cleared by morning. There was a brief respite before the real howling began. The wind blew with a vengeance all day long. Thank goodness it was 52 degrees.

The testing of winter has begun in earnest and this is where I whine a bit.

The well head froze. Fine I can handle that.

I went for an oil change yesterday and the mechanic dude said there is a mouse living in your engine. When I came home and attempted to chase the mouse from the engine there was not one, but two and a nest with a dead mouse in the air filter. Fine I can suck out all those seeds with a vacuum and make life in there miserable for them.

What in heavens is making that chewing noise in the ceiling of the resident gardeners house around the same time every night? It sounds like a squirrel is trying to burrow into the insulation in the roof. I guess I'll have to climb up there and seal off any holes I find.

The mouse in the cozy cabin has decided to move out of the floor and into the loft. Glue traps will take care of you. Damn varmints!!!

A rain of sticks and branches and small logs had occurred during the night along with the torrential downpours. My that was mighty close to the power line. Thank goodness it missed and I still have power.



For another hour anyway. Then it really began to howl. Limbs were flying through the air on their way to impaling the soft wet ground. The power went out early this morning and was out until after dark.

The Black Locust tree tried to come down and got snagged. If it had just waited til morning when the howling winds shifted direction it might have made it around the other locust tree. Now we are set for the slow resolution of a dangerous situation.



Will the apple tree get crushed? Will the broken tree fall to the next crotch down and spare the apple? Which end will come loose first? Will we have to wait until the next howling?

Ohmmm.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, you have had a tough day and night! I have to admit to laughing about the mice. Today I saw a large hawk (or immature bald eagle?) fly across my yard with a dead squirrel in its talons. Mother Nature is cruel - so have at it with the glue traps! (:
Murphy's Law dictates the locust would have ended up like that. Waiting to fall on you and you can't use it. Damn and blast; gonna be a long winter. Our howling will be tonight; gusts to 50 mph plus saturated ground plus large trees. Hope I'm still alive tomorrow.

bev

Siria said...

Hi Christopher! I must admit to laughing about the mice too. I can't laugh too much though as I have mice problems myself! I bet it is a mouse in the ceiling, not a squirel.

I think maybe you need to take a break and head to Florida for a spell.

Christopher C. NC said...

Good Luck Bev. It was wicked windy here today and some what surprising more trees did not come down. I went to town for dinner, no electric, at the right time because a huge tree had fallen over the scenic byway earlier and had been removed already.

Siria I'll be headed there for a short visit at Christmas, but with two spoiled kitties now it makes leaving more of a problem. Plus I am still doing some fall cleanup work for clients. It has been a messy fall.

Gail said...

Christopher, Will you have to start your car/truck engine everyday to keep the mice at bay? Friends in NM have to deal with mice moving into their cars, but it never occurred to me that it was that common a problem. The wind was terrible here...Nashville lost its Christmas tree when the wind snapped into two pieces...bulbs and lights blown everywhere. Nature is merciless. gail

Lola said...

I can't help but laugh at your mouse situation. But I know it can be an aggravating scene.
Poor little varmints just want a warm place to spend the Winter. LOL
Oh Boy, that darn tree is gonna give you ulcers yet. If the mice don't do it first.LOL
Sure hope the wind dies down. It can be a scary thing. I remember hearing the limbs rubbing against each other. Screech, screech, don't like that sound.
I agree with Siria. Teach the kitties to ride.

chuck b. said...

No, not glue traps! That's horrible! What's up with your lazy cats?

Christopher C. NC said...

Gail those mice drove to town and back with me. I use the truck at least every other day. I think more active measures will be needed. That's terrible about Nashville's Christmas tree. I bet it made a big mess to clean up.

Lola I do think the varmints are heading for warmer bunkers. You should hear the sounds these trees can make in the wind.

Chuck have you seen those scenes of the killer whales playing with a baby seal? That is what a cat with a mouse is like. A glue trap is far more humane. Those lazy cats are excellent hunters and they can't even begin to put a dent in the population of varmints around here.

Lola said...

I've heard how the trees sound in a high wind. Not pleasant at all. Worse is when you hear a loud thud when one falls to the ground.

lisa said...

Well, I must say I tend to agree with Chuck-glue traps can be fairly cruel. They make some now that also snap shut (slightly more humane). But hey, it's dog-eat-dog out there sometimes, and varmints just can't be tolerated. Sounds like you could use a solar-powered generator for those windy storms!