7 Quick Takes, Vol. 3

--- 1 ---

Rats!  Yes, we have rats coming into the garden.  There's a blackberry bush just outside of the garden that they seem to have tunnelled under, coming out in the evenings to forage in our garden.  We are trying to block them off, cover the plants, and we're trying a non-poison bait involving oatmeal and quick setting mortar powder to control them.  At this point we've lost all the peppers, all but one of the cucumbers, and about a third of the tomatoes.  Does it sound to you like we're winning?  The only bright point is that the remaining tomato plants seem to have gotten too big for the rats to chew off and drag away.

I kept thinking about the Rats of Nimh, and not in a "oh, there just little creatures who are trying to survive in this cruel world, maybe we should try to figure out how to coexist", but rather I keep thinking, "they are too smart for us, we're doomed!  We'll never get rid of them, we might as well give over the garden and the property to them right now!  We're doomed I say, we're doomed!"  The kids chopped out the blackberry bush - I was too squeamish too tired to tackle it - and I fully expected stolen Christmas lights, elevators, and libraries.  The two nesting areas and a few little tunnels were kind of a let down, actually.

--- 2 ---

And while I'm on the topic of the joys of country living, we had a rather exciting predator night last night.  First I heard what sounded like a cross between a hoarse bark and a strangled growl? shriek? I don't know, it was weird.  I pointed it out to my husband, who likes any excuse to use his super powerful flashlight was curious about the noise too and went to investigate.  He saw a small bobcat prowling around, and in the course of this morning's research he found that this is the sort of sound they make during courtship.  Then a few hours later we heard a full coyote pack chorus closer than we've ever heard them, probably on our property in the gully.  Then they moved off down towards the creek, yipping and howling and making their unearthly banshee noises. Thankfully we no longer have any animals, so I could listen to it all and cheer them on, mentally encouraging them to pick up a rat or two as they went about their business.

--- 3 ---

I had my first midwife appointment on Wednesday, and all is well.  I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which is always fun and reassuring.  I'm looking forward to working with this midwife again.  She is a great person to talk to and extremely knowledgable.  I'm slowly starting to feel better, but I'm still having some not so good days.  I'm at the frustrating stage where I am lively enough to notice how my house has deteriorated in the last month and a half or so, but not energetic enough to do much about it.  I am at least working with the kids to get them to be a little more thorough in their work and scrubbing an occasional sink or other trouble spot, but that's about all I can manage.

--- 4 ---

Matt and I went to see a movie in a movie theater last weekend.  Together!  Isn't that amazing?  It is the first time we've done that since Batman Begins came out.  Yes, that one.  In 2005.  Another big thank you to my mother-in-law, who took care of the kids while we went out!

--- 5 ---

We saw the new Star Trek movie, which we both really enjoyed.  My husband noticed that all of the original Star Trek episodes are available on Amazon Streaming, so we've watched a few of those this week too.  I watched many of the original episodes in late night reruns while I was in high school, and I am finding these darker and more suspenseful than I remember.  But then again I don't think I ever managed to catch these beginning episodes.  It is a different experience to be able to watch them sequentially, rather than in the random order the TV Station decides to air them in.

--- 6 ---

Here's a great breakfast recipe - Baked oatmeal with apples.  I made it this week and last week, and serve it with a choice of strawberries, blueberries, cream, and applesauce.  I do decrease the maple syrup to 1/2 cup and the honey to 2 T, just to make it a little less sweet, but still delicious.

--- 7 ---

Wow, third week in a row I've done this.  I'm strangely pleased with myself.  It is nice to find accomplishments where I can.  Even if they are meaningless blog posts...

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