Aug 14 - cleanup time

The 13th went pretty much as planned -- I finished off my dirt pile just as Lorraine was starting her side then late morning I helped Jason get the shower in place. I then ... ahem ... had a little snooze (I'm entitled ... I'm retired) and we left for Parry Sound around 3pm.

We had some errands to do in PS -- first, pick up the wine awaiting us at the LCBO. There were 5 cases in all, 3 cases of 6 bottles and 2 cases of 12 bottles.

We then went to the market. Sandy wanted to check out this farmers' market during the summer -- it was quite well supplied with local goods and some not-so-local for out of season fruit. Would you believe that you can buy Florida blueberries in Parry Sound ? -- yes, those great big blueberries that they also grow in New Jersey. They also had local wild blueberries at a much higher price than you pay by the roadside between here and Sudbury -- no surprise.

Then it was off to Canadian Tire and Sobeys. I had a variety of little things on my list and wandered around until I found everything. At Sobeys I picked up some lettuce and hot sauce. Sandy had found everything that she wanted at Crappy Tire (not to denigrate Canadian Tire ... I like those stores).

On the 14th I spent much of the day cleaning up -- there is a structure at the side of the property with pipe, old wood, fencing etc. that my Dad had built. I took two loads of stuff to the dump, giving Jason's "dump trailer" a workout -- including many odd pieces of metal, the fencing, some rotten wood not even fit for Gavin's fire pit and misc stuff. I then straightened the structure with the 4-wheeler winch and put some new braces in place. There were two tarped piles of wood in the area -- some old decking and used 2x4's, strapping etc. that I moved into the structure, adding sticks in between for air space / breathing and called it a day. It is now neater, more functional and safer. I still have to clean up some of the PVC pipe lengths, but can do that another day.

In the house there are a couple of areas where we have spotted carpenter ants and some wood shavings from their passage. They don't eat wood they only create shavings as they create room for passage or nests. We contacted a company in Sudbury who came yesterday and did the treatment -- none of these chemicals are available retail. In the two areas where we had some wood dust they put slow acting bait -- it comes in what amounts to a hypodermic needle that they can squeeze the gel into cracks -- and then he sprays the perimeter of the house with chemical that the ants walk on and carry back to their nests. We have not seen any ants for a few weeks but it's not something that we want to ignore ... after all, we live in a wood house ! The chemicals are in minute amounts and do not bother humans or animals in those concentrations.

This brings me to another pest item -- we've noticed mouse poop outside on the front step. We have never seen any mice nor has a mousetrap that I placed in that area yielded any results. Ah ha -- he (the Orkin Ant Man) looked up and spied a very small crack in the facia at the peak and said that the poop was not mouse -- bat poop ! (guano, I guess). There is a very small space up there because there is actually no atic in this place -- probably no bigger than a bird (bat) house -- but they have taken residence. There cannot be very many of them because the space is very small.

Anyway, he said that the way to deal with them is NOT to caulk the space -- instead you have to buy one of those rain gutter things that unrolls when it rains, hang a foot of it over the crack -- that gives the bats a way out but no way in. Then, after a few weeks, you can caulk the crack and remove the rain gutter thing. According to him the bats will try and find a way out if you simply caulk the spot while they are in residence and gnaw their way through insulation and ceiling until they get free -- that is not a pleasant thought ! In this case, since the area behind the small eve is closed, they would probably find another crack to gnaw out of since that would be easier going than into the house ... but I'll follow his recommendation. There is no urgency ... I'll deal with that when we get back from Florida. I should probably put up a couple of bat houses -- they are great to have around since they eat flying insects.

Also speaking of pests, the chipmunk population has exploded this year, giving Abby lots of fun chasing them. They have never bothered me until recently -- they seem to like the ripe cherry tomatoes and are getting all of them before they are quite ripe ... so, when in Crappy Tire I picked up some rat traps (mouse traps are too small) and have caught a couple using peanut butter as bait. They also seem good at eating the PB off the trap without tripping it ... so it's an interesting game. My dad had a good system that I may have to try -- a bucket of water with a pop can suspended over it on a stick so that it can rotate. Peanut butter on the pop can is the attractant and the chippies slip into the water and drown.

How do you like life in the big city so far ? We have trash (our own and occasionaly driftwood), we have pests (I prefer bats, chipmunks, ants vs roaches), we have traffic (I followed another 4-wheeler down Osprey Road on the way back from the dump yesterday), see -- it's all the same !!

... later ...