Author: Steve

…and peanut butter.

There aren’t supposed to be noises under the house.  We called Donald.

Donald might be the world’s greatest bug guy.  He’ll take care of any pest problem.  He sprays bugs, traps rats, and relocates possums.  Donald came by and inspected under the house.  He found a point of entry and evidence that a possum had taken up residence.  The situation needed to be dealt with because if left alone, the possum would continue on to work its way up inside the sub floor of the house and make a mess of everything it could get into, so he closed up the entry point and set a critter trap under the house.  He baited it with freshly cut grapefruit from his yard.

It didn’t take long.  That night, we heard the possum rustling around directly under the living room while we were watching TV.  Later that night, we heard a “clink”, like a cell door being closed, directly under the bedroom.  We sent a text to Donald.

This morning, Donald retrieved the trap.

Complete with possum.

We don’t want possums under our houses, but in nature possums are good for the environment.  They scavenge.  They eat snakes, rodents, and insects.  This guy got relocated to a nearby wild area.  It should be fine there.  We should be fine here.

Thank you, Donald, world’s greatest bug guy.

We got a Christmas Letter from Dave and Sandy.  It’s on my desk.

Great friends.  We enjoy them every time we visit.  Pleasant attitudes.  Interesting.  Animated.  Knowledgeable.  A shared interest in birds.  Sandy is younger.  We’ve teased David about being 80, while we still aren’t.

Just before that Christmas letter arrived, we got word that a fall and a subsequent cascade of medical events led to David’s untimely death.  Our hearts go out to Sandy and family.  The new reality is inescapable for them.  Me, I can set that Christmas letter aside and not read it yet.  When I do read it, it will be knowing it’s the last time we will ever get something from them together.  I don’t want that part to be over.

I was wondering too, and I couldn’t figure it out, so I gave up and asked McIntyre if he knew.  I wasn’t sure he would know.  He might only know about things that creep, crawl, wiggle, and fly.

Shrimp plant, Justicia Brandegeeana.  It’s tropical.  Native to Mexico.

Thanks, Jon.