Hubris

We knew our wild neighbors were getting out of hand in the garden, but we didn’t realize things had gotten this bad! The other day Michelle took some seeds out to plant the next round of radishes and lettuces. While she planted the radishes, a vole came out from under cover, picked up a radish seed, and began eating it, sitting right in front of her, regarding her calmly the whole time!

Michelle’s not one to tolerate this kind of treatment at the paws of her tiny nemeses. This is the woman who, on one of our first weekends at the cabin, stood on a chair and, with a blowgun, made a blind kill shot across the room, putting an end to a vole’s morning snack on our pilot bread!

In this case, she scattered the rest of her seed in front of the little brat, hoping to keep it occupied while she went for the blowgun she keeps in the greenhouse. By the time she returned, it had gone.

This is why I took a break from fishing to help Michelle repair a few mouse traps. The staples of the old Victor traps tend to loosen after a few uses, so we put in new staples to hold them down more firmly. The pay off: the next morning Michelle told me that a vole matching the coloring of her snotty little friend ended up in one of the traps! It may not be the same one, but, for the sake of satisfaction, we’re saying it is.