Tag: mice

Log: September 24, 2019

Preamble

I left work at 2:00 pm today and drove over to my folks’ house. From there, Mom and I drove down to Forest Mall in Fond du Lac, where we parked her car, met up with Dad, and got in his truck. Our destination? Cleveland.

Let’s back up a bit. A few weeks ago, I was talking with my mom about Puckaway projects. Specifically, I was describing the condition of the shack. Windows are broken from uneven settling, it’s mustier than ever, signs of critter infestation are everywhere, the doors are in rough shape, and the roof–that is, the wooden roof built over the actual mobile home roof–is rotting apart. My recent cleaning efforts and furniture rearrangement have made it more habitable than it’s been in years, but it’s an unwinnable war.

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Log: March 28, 2016

Speed run! Wound my way up the soggy driveway with a full truck bed around 2:30 pm. I’m having sinus surgery in two days and I’m not supposed to lift over 10 lbs for a week afterwards, so I wanted to get the first spring haul out of the way. After last week’s surprise final snowstorm, this sunny, 55° day is especially welcome. Dropped off the outdoor Christmas decorations from Oshkosh, some outside toys for the boys, the propane heater and propane tank, then took a moment to hook the pole barn jukebox back up. I installed a different hard drive in that laptop over the winter so it can better handle the music collection, upgraded to Windows 10, and updated KODI as well. The tunes continue.

I also brought up a toaster for the keep, so I walked over to check out how things had fared in there the rest of the winter. There was my mousetrap, baited and set just like I left it. The place smells stuffy, like it could use a good airing out, but not musty or mouse-infested. The fact that the keep went an entire winter without a single critter incursion might be a completely unprecedented Puckaway event. God bless the new door and last summer’s kitchen overhaul.

After slightly venting a few windows for some airflow and locking up, I stopped at the garden shed to fill the bird feeders with the last of the sunflower seed. I’ll have to get more at Menards before my next trip. The chickadees were sure happy to see me. I closed up the shed and headed back to the pole barn to load up my push mower and the summer tires for Lyssa’s car. I noticed that the left rear tire on the green ATV had gone flat so I powered up the air compressor, let the tank build, and aired it back up. Can’t see a hole or hear a leak, so I’ll have to look more into it later.

I was back on the road around 4:00. Feels good to be starting a new year of projects, however short the trip.

Log: August 21-23, 2015

Friday

Came up a little after 4:00 pm with a full truck bed of tools and building materials. Warmer and more humid than I expected. I wasn’t here five minutes and a UPS truck rolled up the driveway. The experiment worked! Amazon and UPS consider this a valid shipping address, so I got a new TV antenna for my trailer delivered right to Puckaway. I unloaded my tools, the new storm door for my trailer, and the salvaged countertops I got for free on craigslist and went hunting for a pole I could use to hang the antenna.

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I found three pipes of varying diameters and built an antenna mast. I drilled through the two larger pipes about two feet from the end and ran bolts through. This let the next smaller pipe “stack” inside and netted me about 30 feet of overall height for the antenna. I temporarily strapped the pole to the side of the deck, hooked up the TV, and scanned for channels. I was able to pull CBS, ABC, and FOX from Madison. Not bad for $30. I’m sure I could get more channels if I could raise the antenna even further, but I had more pressing tasks ahead.

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The Magic of Suction

Shop Vac – Jonathan Coulton

Puckaway tends to attract some uninvited guests. Particularly mice. Particularly mice that get in my trailer. Particularly mice that get in my trailer and wreck all my clothes and blankets. We’ve made some strides in keeping them at bay, though. This is mostly thanks to the miracle of expanding foam sealant and me blasting it into every crack and possible point of entry I can find. And then there’s vacuum bags.

They’re mostly known for turning this:

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