Deer in the garage, and other critters

Egad, has it been a week already since my last post?

Taciturn has been back since Friday. We've gotten much done. We go out twice a day to the house to work. We continue to enjoy the hospitality of my friend's condo while she is on vacation. Presently he is at the house to cover the septic tank lid (had it pumped for the first time since it was installed since 1998), turn on the sprinklers in an attempt to save the lawn, and take a walk.

The critters are sure trying to take over our house though. Mice moved in last week--eeek! I found that disgusting detris they leave all over the house, especially in the utility room, and two new holes in the bathroom drywall. Yuck. I changed my appointment with the carpet cleaners as that suddenly made no sense. I bought a lot of D-Con and they have dined liberally on it, and for the past couple of days we've seen nothing new. We're trying the carpet cleaners tomorrow.

And yesterday, I walked into the garage to put something into the car, and noticed a deer sauntering into the garage as well. I stopped short and said, "Well, hi!" (What else does one say to a deer at such close quarters?) She just looked at me; I don't think she was even alarmed. I went quickly back into the house to tell T, who went out the front door to see. The deer was by our mailbox grazing on some weeds by then.

Yes, we are back in the country. Deer and humans live in such close quarters out here that we see deer almost every day, but I've not had one in the garage before. I had forgotten about their proximity. A successful life out here is lived remembering that fact and working with the deer, not against them. One plants flowers that they don't eat, for example, if one wants flowers. If one plants flowers they enjoy for dinner, then be prepared to chase them each day (they'll eat them at night) or build fences around the flowers, which they will jump or trample down. The deer will win if you decide to work against them. It is easier to work with them.

We could learn alot about living with other people just by living around deer.

We have a shipment of stuff we've had in storage that should come any day. Hopefully it won't come until Thursday, when the carpets are dry.

Other matters: My poor mom was in the hospital for five days with bilateral pneumonia. She went home yesterday. My brother, who has the family penchant for drama, called to tell me the day she was admitted that she could be on her last legs; I called her and she sounded fine, just tired. As a former long time intensive care nurse, my definition of on one's last legs is intubated going into septic shock, not sitting in a regular hospital bed with oxygen through a nasal cannula (nose prongs). So I didn't go home, and she's fine.

Now for a work out, then more work at the house!