Mouse Patrol

One of the "joys" of country living is that when it gets cold outside, mice come out of the fields and seek the warmth of houses. It really has nothing to do with house keeping and everything to do with country living. I can usually catch them around the furnace chimney, the warmest area in the house. Fall time means setting and checking traps. Today I got the first mouse of 2014. And where there is one, there is another.

I don't like using poison because it can get tracked around. I don't want poison all over the house with pets and kids in the house. Instead, I use expensive trap houses. I have tried many different kinds of traps but these work the best.

Bug Mess

I have a light on the front of the garage that lights up all the corn fields for about half a mile. Unfortunately, this attracts all the bugs for about half a mile. Then, on a regular basis, I have to clean all the dead bugs out of the light and wash down the front of the garage. Just another joy of home ownership!

Water Fountain

Packing away the water fountain for winter.

This is a task on my fall list every year.

And then every spring I put it back together.

The boards create a base to help with snow and water that build on top.

The first trash bag faces the wind coming out of the west.

Two layers of trash bags will protect it all winter long.