critters

[idrivejunk]

Thought I would write you guys a story, a mere chain of events spotted by human nature, and see if you guys had any to tell what with it being springtime and all.

So last Monday bright eyed and bushy tailed as I get, wearing all new clothes brand spankin fresh clean and everything...

High-tailing it headlong into an interesting project car to tear it down with reckless abandon, I find it to be one great big dung heap inside.

Ah yes, rat pellets galore with poison as garnish. Meadow muffins! The salt n pepper was ants in a headliner earmuff shaker I tell you what.

In a sanity preservation effort, I took the afternoon off to u-pull-it some parts for my noble mount of about 14 battered years now. The day before, I had filed a police report on the hit and run done a week ago now, that left my car unable to even roll. There were no critters encountered whilst writhing around like a madman under a junk car all afternoon but thats another story. Just before dark, in the street, I uprighted the suspension just enough to take a full size wheel and "drive" again.

Point being that I picked the wrong week to break in new clothes. Long about halfway through I ran out of laundry soap and them black knees are feces.

Loving the task, whizzing through with the right stuff... priceless because I dig the car. Spending a third of the time evacuating unprecedented rat turd heaps of epic proportion. Suggested maybe boss can charge extra, I've been sickened by poison pellets in one years ago. Then and now I winced my way through the job.

Finally overwith from the dash back on Friday, at quitting time the issue arises that a turkey defrosted and ready in work fridge was up for grabs due to a fryer capacity snafu. This was a 24.7 pound gobbler.

Mercy sakes alive. What to do? I text the world's best Mother ever. Mine. 

Leaping to the rescue, in true Kansas wartime baby lady style, she cooked it right up delicious, promptly on delivery and promises the crew sandwiches Monday. Well I'll be. Bless her heart.

Jolted awake today, I hear a dog barking. Boooy howdy now theres a hot button and I groggily archived more evidence for future use. But I yelled like nutso in the house and dadgummit I have not been driven to that in some time. Been making good normality progress and flowing with the goers fluently enough of late.

Figured I'd get a shot at driveway alignment of my crooked wheel after the dog quieted down but then aw. Remembered I cut grass and trimmed bushes until and in rain yesterday after work but only got the front.

So out back I fire up the mower and go to get done. Right next to the old central ac outside unit theres a good long snake. Not moving.

This is the unit fried by a snake coiled on the capacitor terminals. About the same snake just a decade or two later.

I flick it onto patio with stick to identify and it is extremely lethargic. Not knowing if I broke it or need the hatchet or what, I just mow and glance each pass. Then leave it be on the patio and go out cruisin and to snag some chicken.

Chicken. How many critters are we at now? I've lost count. Yardbird was the only one I've et, leastwise so far.

Well anyhow I just looked up the snake. "It is an omen of good fortune", "Man's best friend"...

the noble Black Rat Snake. A constrictor probably constricting a bug and coming out of semi hibernation. Like a four footer. The modern world would have me publicly apologize for the displacement and make restitution in store bought mice for the next century. Then there'd be the civil suit. I just wanted to mow not sin and the stick under it was baseboard molding, not pointy.

Black rat, huh?    Belly laugh. Just like my knees. And new shoes. Been so dirty this week I can't even think clean thoughts!

Thems just a string of observational commentaries to fill your few minuteses.

Now howbout you share your varmint tails?

[jaybee]

Small world, I saw a black rat snake slithering out of the woods 3 weeks ago. Technically it was Mrs B who saw it. The sidewalk is too narrow for walking side by side. She was behind me. Suddenly she put a hand on my shoulder and started saying "walk faster walk faster, walk faster." It was about a 4 footer and probably on patrol for whatever edibles it could find.

[idrivejunk]

Racers can go 4 mph and are also just black on top. The one in my story may have been unharmed, it was gone later in the day.

[48builder]

While not  as extensive as yours, I had the opportunity this weekend to reduce the squirrel population at my place. My wife won't let me kill them so she was away for a few days and I took advantage of that. Have this trap that clamps on them if they trigger a little "V-shaped" thingie. I set it on top of a cinderblock and smear peanut butter on the inside of the hole.

First afternoon got 1 gray. The next day was 3 gray and 1 red. Yesterday was only 1 gray.

I have no problem with them as long as they stay in the woods. Trouble is they get under the hood of cars, eat all the bird seed and just generally make a mess.

After all that, I get up this AM and there are 2 of them on the deck! And wife will be home in 2 hours so my trapping is done for now.

Here's a pic of what they did in my son's RV van. Cost $800 bucks to fix the wires they chewed.

[idrivejunk]

Looks as though varmints are downright invasive in your neck of the woods, same as here. Thats a noteworthy pile you showed and it represents a heap of work for both man and beast.

Truth be known... after all the blasting and priming on the current 68 Chevy cab job that was interrupted by teardown of the potty mop 69 GT job...

the 68 cab was SO full of acorns and horsehair that the whole way across above windshield where visors mount is riddled with rust holes. Neato, thats all double wall. Five feet across and all overhead. Sigh. Last cab, a 56, wore me out just welding up four screw holes up there and mudding it on a Monday. Suffered the week through with shoulder blades feeling padlocked together.

Sux gettin old. Butt hay.

Reining in the subject matter now, I uh. Can report that cling wrap corsages clipped to car mirrors does seem to be effective. Each cling wrap wad gets an initial visit and deposit but the culprits catch on that better perches exist.

[idrivejunk]

I gotta scare up a pic of my 72GP's engine bay upon reciept. It was plumb full up against backside of hood. Epic fecal episode.

Worthy of mention as a bonus pointer-

Years ago we had a 68 Cougar in for a TT Supra mill swap, did not tear down body but square foot piles of dead killer-soaked wasps came outta that thing forever. Never really found from where. Well on the 69 Mustang GT teardown I found out where they go on those. Inside die cast quarter panel extensions. Oh my word there were some good ol big uns in those. Nests, old but a lot lot of wasps called it home once.

I was stung about 20 times by wasps jabbing a stick into a stake pocket on Grandpa's 60 or so long wide bed. When I was nehi to a hubcap. Swimmin in an ocean of Calamine lotion. I had been "penned" to play in the truck bed so as to be easy to keep an eye on. Hah! Couple dozen stings before an uncle snagged me out of there.

Y'know what though, I am right proud to be being alive while theres still big scary critters and all that which still creepeth underfoot. We need animals and us and them both need trees and water. Yep. Except some desert big cats get by on just the blood, never have drink water. I'm glad I don't deal with those and oh man... ocean critters are just altogether another matter, entire!

When I opened front door today, I adjourned a meeting of several species nearby. Birds but also a squirrel who knew it was in no danger, presiding over events from the rooftop. I'm hoping they were discussing replacing the cypress tree that used to stand where they were congregating.

Apparently all is well with the inhabitants. Thats all for now from this Rambling American.  

More stories. They are abundant if'n a feller pays attention.

[idrivejunk]

Couple weeks ago I head out to the back yard and sawdust falls on my head when I open the door. After a quarter century of keeping a termite contract going, the trusted advisor who told me I needed one told me I should drop it so I did, in April.

That was my first thought. But it was black ants not termites or carpenter ants and foam core dust from the steel door. And I killed em all, on the spot.

Last week, had one of the house doors open for a few minutes and ended up with a half dozen flies in the kitchen. Killed em all, right then and there.

Last night at bedtime, on throne with TRJ in hand and phone on counter, in walks the biggest insect I maybe ever saw. Had doors open quite a bit last evening doing chores since it was nice after work. Been lots of rain though and at home its crickets in yard. At work, grasshoppers right now.

Never seen a cockroach since I left Dallas but thats what this looked like, creeping up to me with my britches down fer Pete's sake. With gigantism. Wanting to believe cricket but either way...

I wasn't waiting to lose sight. Ever so reluctantly, with the TRJ I swatted and legs flew across the room. I'm leaning toward big funky looking cricket since one swat did it. Anyhow...

So there I am. Paperwork unfinished, mag unduly soiled, bug guts scattered about. Nifty.

In that same about to go to bed minute which began so peacefully, a dog had started barking and a second super low flying helicopter had thumped its way directly over the house shaking the walls and, the train engineer that always does was laying on the horn. The big bug was a catalyst.

Yelling constantly now, neck veins pulsating, I begin cleanup operations on all of the above. You'll be glad to know the sturdy high quality construction and fine glossy finish of the magazine / book remained unscarred after disinfecting.

But by then I was wound up and during the last handwashing one small slip sent my phone on a trip across the counter, across the sink and slamdunking into the toilet where legs and other floaty remnants swirled.

Having striven for inner peace so long now in the face of bad situations that in an instant compound exponentially... I grabbed the phone and shucked the case but as I grabbed it I inadvertently turned the camera on via an unintended quick lanch gesture. Screen came on before I could even snatch it out of the water.

More disinfecting and obsessive handwashes ensued and the phone, this very one I'm typing on, never quit working. Plugged it in awhile later, moisture detected at power cord inlet. OK OK, let it sit overnite without the case.

Still works. And I just stomped a lethargic wasp who joined me for lunch.

I did good. Washed my filthy car, trimmed weeds and bushes after work, and was tired. The yelling took awhile to subside and somewhere in there, once again unseen forces came to mind. Thats my life, I try good and evil comes to dismantle it. I had just cleaned the bathrooms too.

This stuff don't happen to you guys, does it?

[idrivejunk]

 

Equestrian critters.

[kb426]

^^^^
Good critters.

[jaybee]

Those are two of my favorites. I remember when you could get either one cheap. Now they'll forever be outside my financial reach.

[idrivejunk]

Saw a Mustang yesterday, same color as that one was but not a GT. I swear (and I have the experience to know the look) the guy was taking off on foot, maybe to home nearby, but the car was dead and barely coasted into a wide driveway. He had his phone out.

The Bronco appeal eludes me but they are a significant percentage of our workload at the shop. Boss and I talked of this the other day and if we haven't done ten yet I'd be suprised.

I don't have any significant investment in my old car, just kept it and now people say it has five times my best car's value. None of my coworkers have cars with carbs, mine is kind of like an automotive megalith. A withering vestige of more reasonable times.

The instant I opened the door to it this evening, my spirit guide hopped aboard and unlike last night we experienced unfettered bliss. So I'm calling this a good critter.

[idrivejunk]

This is a fairly lovable but useless and sometimes violent family critter, on the other hand. The bobble version is something I whipped up with a carb cleaner spray tube and ballpoint pen spring for entertainment.

[jaybee]

That looks like a well-loved cat.

[idrivejunk]

That is a complete and accurate description of it and the purpose served by it.

Its pretty choosy about buddies but fell victim to the lure of cheese paper near a Sonic dumpster.    Back then it looked more like the old newspaper cartoon character.

[58 Yeoman]

I didn't even have to train mine to work in the shop, but I have to keep him out now, because he keeps knocking things off the tables.