Dot`sThoughts

The past few months have kept me busy. Not the normal gardening, house repairs and other things normal for this time of year. First I was getting run over with carpenter ants coming in through the bathroom fan. After a couple months finally conquered them. Nest came the skunks. So far 4 have been removed, they seems to have loved living under my wood shop. Now trying hard to get the fifth one to come out from under there.  Seems like the chipmunks , squirrels , wildcat and neighbors cats also love the bread with peanut butter I was using  to draw out the skunks. I had a very scared cat the time I opened the cage to let it out. Then there was the black squirrel, never saw anything so scared as it was when I opened the cage door to release it. It took off up the near tree, then up onto the shop/garage roof and out of sight.  I hadn`t seen it again for almost two months. But, this past week it showed up again. Couple days ago I tried another way to  make it harder for them to sneak out the bread. I used an old plastic onion bag and wrapped the bread and PButter in it and wired it to the inside of the cage. Took the other animals three days to finally pull  the bag outside  through the small holes of the cage. But, still have that skunk under my shop. Then I placed the cage onto a board so other animals cannot dig  out the dirt under the cage to get the food.  Wish me luck, I still small a skunk early in the mornings. Worrying my dog might lay where it can pick up the odor on  his fur. If I ever get the last one (hoping the last one) out, then must figure out a way to better close it up so they can`t dig back under next year. Seem to come back every year. Will not know if just the one skunk left under there till after it is gone and when I shovel in the hole it stays closed.

 While fighting skunks, I found I was being over run with wasps. According to TV reports bees are getting scarce. Wish that was true on my property. Was watching bees going in and out different places in the eaves of my kitchen addition end of the house. Couldn`t find where the actual nest was. That got solved when a son pulled off all those small boards used to fill in each space between all the ends of the roof rafters on the added kitchen roof. Between each rafter was 4 or 5, sometimes more,  nests- all loaded. Must have easily been over a thousand bees living there. Well, that area is cleared out and all the boards have been replaced and properly sealed up to prevent them making new nests.  Next was to check out where they were going in and out on the other corner of the house. Expected only one  nest there, but wrong again. A little spraying had bees flying out of lots of places along the length of the long front eaves on the rest of the house. No small boards to pull off there- has long boards closing up the length of the house.  Seems like there is never a dull moment when you own  your own home.

 Is this what is called early  Birthday gifts?