Carcass Removal

We thought we left the mice behind at the cabin.

Unfortunately, they found us here.

The Terminex Company guy was kind enough to set some traps for us while they were here

spraying for ants and 21 other deadly and/or annoying pests.

This did not include scorpians, which was too bad, because Seth found one

in his bathroom the very morning the Terminex guy was coming.

Spencer and Seth took care of it with a broom and a big stick.Well, the traps were set up in the attic space. And worked like a wonder.

How did we know?

The rank, rancid, smell of death that began early the next morning.

My first instinct was to check the laundry for smelly stuff and start a load with a generous amount of clorox.

That didn't help so I started checking toilets.

I was baffled by this smell--and I don't get baffled easily by smells (I have 5 boys you know).

Luckily, Scott traced it to the attic and we deduced that:

Dead Critter + 100 Degree Heat= Stink

I called our Terminex guy. The bored receptionist let me know that the papers

I signed with their promise to correct any problem immediately was just a

suggestion. A guideline. Not really true.

They would be happy to send someone out tomorrow.

Me: "We will probably all be dead by tomorrow--dead by asphyxiation from dead animal smell"

She: "I'm not sure who the guy is that works in your area."

Me: "Don't you have a list there somewhere that you can check?"

She: "Ummm, I don't know."

Me: "What do you usually do when you need to send someone to a particular area? Draw straws?"

She: "I'm going to have to put you on hold."

While I was waiting on hold, I had time to look through my paperwork and see that our guy's name was 'Abood'.

So I passed that helpful tidbit along to the helpful receptionist when she got back to me.

She: "OH! Abood!"

Me: " Yes, Abood. Tell Abood he needs to come and collect the dead critters in my attic."

She: "He'll be there tomorrow between 10:00 and 2:00."

Me: "This is pretty urgent. You can't get someone here sooner?"

She: "Tomorrow. Thank you, good-bye."

And with that she got back to texting her boyfriend.

And I got back to holding my breath as I made my way out to find a willing son.

It's a long-standing tradition that I pay my boys for carcass removal.

They like dead stuff and I don't so it's a WIN/WIN situation.

It's usually something the cats drag in.

But usually the cats eviscerate and decapitate their offerings so SMELL isn't an issue.

But this time it was a much bigger job.

Seth volunteered--for a higher than normal fee--which I was

more than willing to pay.

We weren't even sure what kind of animal was up there.

Or what kind of mess it had made.

So, here you see him braving the smell and removing the carcasses from the attic.

Two tiny mice.

Now we're all breathing easier.

Hidden Treasure

Come with me on a journey of mystery and intrigue. To a world of hidden cupboards and trapdoors. Come with me to a place we call: THE PANTRY!





You see here an ordinary looking cabin pantry. Some cupboards, some canned corn, some Campbell's soup. But what lurks beneath?
AH HA! A trapdoor!








Hmmm....what is this? The proverbial "rats nest"! The cabin's resident vermin found a cozy spot for their home--hidden away in the secret cupboard.

Here they kept their secret stash of peanuts.











Apparently, the mice were guarding the hidden safe! (The mouse you see died of natural causes--I think.) I vacuumed everything with the shop vac and I could see something back there and it made a loud clunking sound as it went up the hose but I didn't realize it was a dead mouse until I looked at the pictures later--ick. Let's assume he died in the line of duty: working the night shift on guard duty.

So, there ends our story-- BUT WAIT! you exclaim...what is in the safe? Diamonds? Gold? Old Pokemon cards? Alas--that will remain a mystery because Dad threw away the bulliten board that held the key to the treasure: the combination to the safe was on a ratty-looking old card that was pinned to the board that was behind the door in the laundry room. It went to the dump and along with it our means of opening the safe. If this were The Boxcar Children or Trixie Belden, it would have ended with the children finding a fortune in treasure which they would donate to the local a. Old Folks Home, b. Homeless Shelter or c. Orphanage but all we got was a bunch of peanuts. I guess we'll donate them to the garbage.

DISCLAIMER: No animals were harmed in the making of this blog. The mouse that got sucked up in the vacuum was already dead (sucks to be him!).