Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here to bring you up to date on hardly any news. You may remember me from such posts as “The Long Darkness”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
I forget what I was looking at, but it was something. The guy I live with doesn’t mind when I stare at things, except when I stare at things on our walks at night.
I’ve seen a raccoon twice, now, on our evening walks; a really big one, too.
Hardly anything has been happening in the last couple of weeks, except for some gardening, and lots of excitement about the new recycling container the guy I live with got. There’s going to be a lot less stuff in the house now, like all these papers and magazines and journals the guy I live with said he’d never read again.
The guy I live with said that when he worked in telephone repair, he would go into houses where there were magazines piled so high he had to kind of edge around them to get through the house; he said he didn’t want to be a person like that.
It rained all day a couple of days ago; not like pouring rain, but drizzle. Since the weather has gotten a lot cooler, the canal road is still damp.
The crocuses really liked the rain. These are Crocus speciosus, which the guy I live with says is one of the best for the autumn garden.
The pictures were taken in bright sunlight, so the flowers look paler than they are.
The guy I live with said he was going to make a note to order a lot more of these for next year.
Because it’s gotten cooler, mice have been walking into the house. The other day I was sure there was one in the kitchen, and so the guy I live with, who knows I’m always right about this, got out the live traps and put some peanut butter in them, but nothing happened.
Then he was sitting right here at this table, and looked down.
I knew I was right. The back door is open all day long, and into the night, only closed when we go to bed, so no wonder we have mice, looking for a warm place to stay.
The guy I live with said that shortly after this picture was taken, the mouse walked back out onto the patio, so, for once, the door was closed. The mouse kept trying to get back into the house, so the guy I live with put some pieces of bread on the garage floor, by the front garage door. There’s a gap between the floor and the door and so mice who are outside can come into the garage to get bread. The guy I live with feels sorry for them, in the winter, except when they’re in the house.
So that’s all our news. Not much of anything, but I didn’t want anyone to wonder where I had gone.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
That is why some households include feline residents.
The guy I live with said there were cats who lived here, a long time ago, and they didn’t do anything but lie around all day.
Oh, that would be annoying if there were also rodents. I was not so keen on Darla living here, but she certainly earned her stay. There were NO rodents here until she relocated to live a more domestic lifestyle. I want to hire a pair of feral kitties now. If they are feral, they will be more likely to control rodents, without wanting to come inside.
Well there are snakes here, in the garden. And sometimes cats, but I chase them away.
Chase them away? They probably just want the rodents, which you do not want anyway. They might help if they get the chance, . . . not that rodents are always a problem.
Yes, I chase them away. They might catch the birds in my garden.
Oh! I did not consider that.
Great to hear from you again Mani. I am finishing up on WordPress today as I have big upheavals going on. I will miss reading about you and the guy you live with . All the best.
Thanks; same to you.
Guy you shuud ALLWAYSS lissen to Mani…hee nose thingss!!!
What a heelareeus story an foto of THE wee Mousie sittin on THE floor…..
An Guy wee wuud put food out fore wild animalss two….wee still feeding feral kitty Luna….
Yore Crocusess are so purrty…….
***nose bopss*** BellaDharma an **waves** BellaSita Mum
Thanks; I am always right when it comes to things l like this. I even check the live traps to see if there’s anyone in there. The traps do have air holes, but still, they need to be checked.
Wee beeleeves you Mani!!! An yes iss guud to check live trapss fore little oness 😉
Bye THE way yore fotoss are grate!! Wee love yore closin foto…you look toetallee reelaxed, mew mew mew….
Thanks. I was pretty relaxed indeed.
The traps work very well but we usually don’t have mice in the house, because there’s so much for them to eat out in the garden. Seeds and stuff.
Nothin wrong with bein reelaxed Mani!
Maybee THE Mousie wantss to beecome a pet Mousie??? Mew mew mew…..
The guy I live with said we’re not going to have a pet mouse. He said he saw one in the garage today; maybe it was the same one.
Understood!! Wee wuud not want any Mouseiss inn THE Housie or inn garage eether Mani! 😉
Well Mani, you certainly look more alert and perky now that the heat and storm season has passed. Don’t mess with those raccoons though. They may look cute but they can be particularly vicious. Can’t blame the mice for wanting in but there does have to be some ground rules about where they are allowed.
There were raccoons in the garden here some years ago, a family of them that lived next door, but they stopped coming, for some reason.
The mice can live in the garden, or even in the garage. There are now fewer places in the garage for mice to stay, because the mattress and other things are gone.
Re: squeegee substitute
Perhaps turkey poultry grit fom a local farm/feed store.
The guy I live with tried that once. The grit was full of salt.