THREE BLIND MICE

It's colder than a two day corpse in an ice house and the multi~layers of frozen glaze on the ground range from freezin' rain to fluffy wet snow. Here on the Ponderosa we feed critters....all sorts of critters. This is one Ozark gal who feeds wild birds year round. Rocky the squirrel always has an ear of corn hangin' on the big Oak tree to nibble when a cravin' strikes him and Tiger the Wonder Dog continuously enjoys a full meal deal. The cattle always have well rounded meals and the donkeys tummies are plump. I have to admit I've seen,'coon, 'possum, skunk, armadillo, coyotes, deer, wolves, big cats, lost horses, neighbors buffalo and yes even bears takin' advantage of our generous portions but there is one thing 'round these parts that is about as welcome as an outhouse breeze in the heat of summer are mice. Even worse are their giant kissin' cousins 'RATS'!!! Big fat furry bold overfed rats!

I would walk around the place doin' chores hearin' little movements 'round the foundation. Since the place is surrounded by active birds, lizards and who knows what that will sun on my steppin' stones on a warm day, I truly didn't give it a second thought 'til one day after unloadin' my supplies I noticed somethin' dart by outta the corner of my eye. Bein' the curious chick I am I decided to make like Nancy Drew (didn't ya just love those books???) to take the watch and wait approach. Much to my surprise a well fed rodent zipped straight to Tiger's dog dish grabbed a kibble, devoured it then helped himself to more. Since Tiger wasn't present, 'cause he was at my Mother~in~Love's runnin' with her dog Bobby (Kinda like Dumb and Dumber, did I ever mention that Tiger is about as sharp as a bowl of mashed 'taders???) I removed his dish from the scene. I offered up a delightfully delicious dish of green Decon pellets and impatiently waited. Heaven help me here... I'm not a patient kinda gal! Almost immediately I had three rats feastin' on their poisonous banquet. I watched them devour three large Jiffy Peanut-butter lids filled with Decon then after a playful game of tag 'round the tires of my car one of the little fellas curled up on my doormat and took a leisurely nap. This is the moment I picked up the phone and demanded Hubby to bring somethin' 'stronger' home 'cause I wasnt' havin' no 'Watch Rat' on my doorstep and the Decon was about as useful as buttons on a dishrag at this point!!!

The little furry fellas finished off my supply so I brought their platter in. The next time I passed by the French door there stood three fuzzy varmints searchin' for their dish lookin' in at me as to say, " oh please, pretty please Mam, may we have just one more morsel???" Later that day I put out the 'bait' that was used at our local feed mill to keep such critters at bay, surly that would be the death of my new found friends. Thanks Hubs, sorry for the bossiness but times like these call for a chick to be a bit demandin'. Heck, these Super Rodents were cartin' off my ten pound supply of Hombri Mini Blocks off faster than I could put 'em out. No doubt for the big orgy they were were plannin' to have above our family room that night. I made the little ferrous tenants my famous poison peanut-butter balls. Ya know the ones my dear DIL said, "If Mom kicks the bucket, were not takin' anything outta her freezer 'cause we'd be dippin' 'em in chocolate and eatin' them!!!! The ones that almost always insure sudden death but this time my deadly treat didn't work any better than a rubber-nosed woodpecker in a petrified forest. This was war!!! Somethin's eatin' my storage building!!! Really, gnawed a big old hole right through the thing and it has big thick wood siding. I purchased some Just One Bite, a warfarin free product as was the Hombre, and placed it everywhere. I made the peanut~butter balls outta it, I mixed quick set concrete and granola with it. It's been several days since I've heard the pitter patter of little toes or the gnashin' of teeth. Hopefully... I've seen the last of their antics!!!

This English nursery rhyme and musical round was published in "the Seconde part of Musics Melodie in 1609 by the teenage author Thomas Ravenscroff. We as humans are far too often as blind as those three blind mice. We walk around with blinders so busy and burdened with cares that we can't see the 'Light' that surrounds us every blessed day. God is our light but folks Satan is workin' overtime. He is out to steal our joy, ruin families and darken our days. Today I beg you to pause, take off those dark glasses and enjoy the rays of His real truth. Bask in the warm lovin' light that our Heavenly Father brings 'cause I sure don't want to end up in total darkness like one of those "Three Blind Mice!!!"

MICKEY ON STEROIDS

Mickey has been running laps around the ceiling of our family room despite my efforts to deliver him a lethal dose of poison. I have really exhausted my creativity in concocting various potions.(check blog Mickey Thrives below) He is defiantly packin' on the pounds dining on the gourmet delicacies I have served up. He now sounds like Bigfoot dancing to the rhythm of the birds chirping outside my window.

This morning around 2:30am a horrific noise made me sit straight up in bed. I will emphasise the word HORRIFIC. It even woke hubby who sleeps through hail storms and tornadoes. The monster was running, gnawing ,turning somersaults and back flips in our duct work. A real acrobat that Mickey. Hubby turned on the oldies to scare the monster away. Mickey likes music, he just found the beat to go with his routine. I spent the morning making sure every vent was tight and had sufficient poison under it. I walked around the exterior of the house checking for crawl holes and tunnel unders. I found none of the above.

Tonight I will retire hoping for a good nights shut-eye. Hubby has a plan of using the boats blow horn to drive Mickey out of Ireland. That sounds restful. Have you ever heard those things? They are loud enough to resurrect the dead. So, an evenings rest full of sweet dreams with lions and tigers and Mickey........I don't think so!!!!

MICKEY THRIVES

Occasionally I hear the pitter-patter of little feet in the ceiling above our family room. Yes, a pesky little rodent has decided to take up residence over my head, invite friends and family to hold parties and foot races. This sets me into action. I grab the mouse poison and place some under the house which usually takes care of the problem. I rotate different types of delicious morsels so the little varmints will not become immune to the stuff. This one is a mouse of a different color. I heard this visitor several weeks ago and placed bar bait under the house. He lived. Next step was the just one bite pellets with no avail. I then put out the poison peanut butter balls. These always work... never failed before. I take the above poisons grind them up, add peanut butter and make little balls. I then place them in a baggie in the freezer for convenient use. My DIL once said, "Mom you kick the bucket we'll be dippin' those things in chocolate and eating them." (I have them well labeled.) Needless to say my tried and true method failed. I then took the advice I once received from an exterminator and coated some granola with quick set cement and offered it to my guest. No matter what I have tried it seems to be the drug of choice for Mickey who seems to be thriving and having an exciting life.