Changes and wildlife

Wildlife this week was awful. Snakes everywhere, though not bothering anything. I think they're basically getting flooded out some lower down the mountain because the "wet crick" that's usually dry is still going strong, and low spots in cow pastures around here are all flooded out. Least we can't gripe about no rain so far THIS year. Looks like the drought might be over, though I'm not sure it's so good for folks along the Mississippi River basin. News reports have many places in danger of some flooding, including St. Louis, MO, home of the Gateway Arch. It's a bit scary to think about the flooding, because being on a mountain, it's not something I have to deal with unless I leave the property, which is just about every day for something - work, errands, getting email on Sundays, etc.

The other bad part about the wildlife this week is that apparently, clearing up that trash pile off the deck is stirring stuff up, though I don't mind, because I can see bare dirt in places there now, and a lot of it can be burned. The boys have caught a LOT of mice this last week, and early last week, they trapped something between the bed and the wall. The bottom box spring had slid around a bit till one side was away from the wall, leaving a v-shaped gap. They chased whatever it was in there, and Bouncer, especially, was trying really hard to get in at it. I thought at first he was just denyingem sleep and being the goofball that he often can be, but Monday night, just about the time it was getting dark, he was still at it and going crazy trying to get in there. So I took the big flashlight and shone it in there. "See, Bouncer, there's nothing in theeeee -- YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" I had to leap up and grab the pellet gun, because there was a huge freaking RAT in behind the bed! Took seven shots to kill it since it kept moving around and driving me crazy trying to hit it, but it finally got stuck and stunned enough that for the last, seventh, pellet, I was able to pull the mattress and top box springs away from the wall, kneel on the bed, and put the muzzle right up against it's ear and blast it's little brains out.

I don't mind rats any more than the other wildlife around here. They've got more right to live here than I do, but I do prefer they keep their distance. Besides, rats can carry as many if not more diseases than other pests that can get in the house, and they do tend to bite more than the mice. So I'm a little wary about them. I did wrap it up and left it on the porch for the DNR to retrieve to check it for rabies (thank goodness, that came up negative), because I didn't want to have to worry about that. The boys got some serious praise, especially Bouncer, because he was more than willing to go in behind the bed and try to tackle the thing all by himself, and it was a good-sized rat, about a third his size. Didn't matter to him, he figured It Didn't Belong and He Was Going To Kill It. Period, full stop, that bugger was dead at his teeth and claws if he could get to it. The boys did enjoy a good sniff on the rat before I wrapped it up and put it outside.

The trees are greening up nicely, and the places that got cleared out last summer and fall are showing some grass and such growing up among all the leaves, so some greening of the ground is taking place, too. I do wish Quentin felt up to doing more. Some have asked what's going on with him and why I don't mention him lately. In all seriousness, he's going through a major bout of depression over the lack of a job, and jobs here are not always that easy to find. It's also difficult for him to job-hunt, because he lacks computer skills, and most places want you to use a computer to fill out an internet application (something else we lack), so while he's doing some things around the place, like the general housework, he's also feeling kind of helpless and morose and just generally depressed, so he spends a lot of time sleeping or playing games on his PS2 to make the time pass. Sadly, he has almost seven months before he can rehire at Tysons, where he wants to go back to. So he's not a lot of help lately and it's a bit hard on me to have to be on top of everything and responsible for everything, too. But we are making it.

And it's going to get better. I found out a couple of weeks ago that Butterball was going to be cutting hours for the spring and even more for the summer, to the point that we couldn't have survived on what I'd bring home. It almost was going to not be worth going in. I knew my rehire wait period for Tysons (long story why I left there, not my fault, but what I get for following protocol and having a supervisor who was a misogynist), so I stopped at the gas station on the way home one day a couple of weeks ago to call the local hiring center and see if they could tell me. If I'd known my wait time was up last summer, I would have never hired in at Butterball and would have just rehired at Tysons. Because I finally got off Butterball early enough one day that I hightailed it to the Tysons hiring center and put in my application. I took the plant tour Wednesday (meant taking a day off Butterball, and we can't really afford that, but I had to do it to have a chance at getting hired). I was going to go to Butterball for a few hours work that afternoon, but after the tour, they asked me to come back that afternoon for my interview and physical, and since I'd found out that Butterball was closing early again anyhow, I said the heck with it and went back for the interview. Got through that and the physical, and got offered to start tomorrow (Monday) with Tysons.

So the great news that I mentioned last week is that I am no longer working for Butterball (I quit Friday at the end of the day), and am officially employed by Tysons again. Better pay ($12.40 an hour within a couple of weeks), guaranteed 40 hours a week on first shift, better benefits, cheaper insurance (and better), closer to home by seven miles one way, and still close enough to a grocery store that I can pick up fill-in stuff during the week if need be. I have to have Quentin go get my last check from Butterball, because they don't do direct deposit on final checks, and then we'll have to go to Wal-Mart to cash it because our bank is in Branson (we like the bank and refuse to change just because we can't get to the branch easily), but that's ok. Tysons does direct deposit, too, and they have you fill out the paperwork for it right off at the interview, so you get your checks in the bank from the get-go instead of having to wait a few weeks for them to get it all straightened out.

This extra money means that even with only one paycheck, we'll be able to do things a bit more now. The well will be developed finally, and I'll be able to spend a bit each week on stuff for the garden now, too! And we'll be able to get fencing done, and more clearing of brush and trees since we can afford gas for Quentin's chainsaw for the big stuff. And so much more.

Mentioning my chainsaw reminds me, that little thing is a blessing. I think I've mentioned before, it's a great little tool for a battery-powered chainsaw. You wouldn't think it has the power it does. For getting our kindling cut up, it does a bang-up job way faster than the hand saw ever did. Plus if we need something trimmed in place, it does it a lot faster and easier. Kudzu can't stand up to it for nothing, it's just that tough. Now, I have found out that as long as I'm not cutting oak or the thorny locust up (some of the hardest wood we've got on the place), the battery will last three or four hours of cutting and trimming. If I'm doing the really hard woods, or bigger stuff, the battery will last maybe an hour, because it just takes so much more torque to get through the wood. I have cut four-inch logs with it with no problems, though, other than I had to get the chainsaw file out yesterday and sharpen the blade. It was getting a bit dull, and it needed dealing with.

(Thank goodness for autosave ... I accidentally closed out my browser where I was typing this from scratch this week without posting. Didn't lose anything though, so that's all good!)

And now it's time for me to dump my gazillion emails and get a few groceries and head home. See you next time, hopefully with photos!