Pond Clean up

A warm day here today, perfect for cutting back the growth around the pond. I have tried to do it in the fall because come spring there is so much else to do.  Also the dead leaves of the iris seem to be harder to trim and all laying down so harder to get too.  Besides it makes the pond look neater all winter long.

Here's the grass blocking the view of the pond.   I had trimmed this earlier this fall because it was making it difficult to drive in to my side of the garage.  Now the rest needs to go.

The iris ring the pond and need a good trimming too.

Here's the after with the grass and iris cut back.

I didn't have boots on so didn't wade in to trim the cattails or the iris growing in the water.

I'll wait until a very cold day when the pond is frozen to walk out on it to trim the cattails.  The dark plant in the background is the Joe Pye weed.  I'll wait until Spring to cut that down and use the stalks in my brush fence.

No Longer a Church

This former church is in Windsor, Vermont down Main Street from the church featured here last weekend.

It's a lovely structure that has been lovingly cared for but with a new purpose.

Joining Inspired Sunday.

Old South Church, Windsor, Vermont

This was a very popular photo spot last Saturday in Windsor, Vermont.  Fall leaves were at their peak of color and this church is so distinctive.

Joining Inspired Sunday.

Mouse in the Tub! And Other Critter Issues!

It's that time of year when the mice think they need to come into my house.  I've caught a couple in traps in the garage - the major entry point.  Then earlier this week I thought I heard one gnawing behind a small rolltop desk I have in the pantry/mudroom/laundry room.  I pulled the desk out from the wall and no mouse, but the sound continued.  Later as I ate dinner I heard it again in the same wall but from the great room side. It sounded as though it was trying to gnaw into my built in buffet. The next day the sound had stopped.  Checked the traps, no mouse caught.

Fast forward to this morning as I dressed in the bathroom, something caught my eye.  A mouse in the tub.  Now our master bath tub is huge.  Made to fit my 6'3" husband.  When the house was built, the tub had to be lowered in by a crane before any walls could go up.  The tub is poured concrete.

Somehow a very small mouse had found its way to the tub, fallen in and couldn't get back out.  The walls of the tub are too slippery. This has happened once before.  We don't know where they come from to fall into the tub.

When I saw it I immediately went to get a trap, placed it in there, and with my camera ready thought I'd be recording its death.  Sounds macabre I know. Above you can see the trap placed in there and the mouse blends into the tub color.

Well, now I know why the peanut butter disappears from these traps and they don't get sprung.

 

The mouse is so light it can eat the peanut butter.

I went for a glass and put that over the mouse on the trap then had second thoughts.

I tried to cover it with the glass without the trap but the mouse went down into the next level of the tub. As it cowered in a corner I put the glass over it catching its tail.

See its tail at about 11 o'clock?

I had to decide at this point, would I leave it there for Dan to take care of tonight or get cardboard and capture it.  I opted for the latter.

Here it sits on the counter.  Yes, these sinks are concrete too but they are being replaced next month.  Another story.

I took it out the door in Dan's study to the flower bed.  I hope it becomes owl or fox food.

Update: the mouse is back to gnawing in the wall behind the built in buffet.  I've purchased sound deterrents, sticky pads and new mouse traps.

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And while I'm sharing our critter troubles, we came home from NH and discovered the back lawn had been ravaged.

Here's before.  Green grass.

Here's after.

All through the lawn the grass has been pulled up.

There are no deep holes like a fox after voles might do.

I think it was raccoons hunting for earth worms.

I'll need to rake and seed and hope for rain since the hoses are put away and the spigots shut off for winter.

It's a never ending saga of me against the critters. After 10 years of this wouldn't you think they'd leave me alone?