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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Just been to the supermarket , hoping to get the shopping done before the mad rush of tourists arrived...no such luck, the supermarket was chock-a-block full of them...They are just as bad pushing their trollies down the aisles as they are driving on our narrow roads...And the village is getting busy too...
I understand. I remember in Germany it was quite a burden when I was living in the countryside. I would capture and them away with my bicycle to the woods, just return them to nature. The culprit were some crisps we kept leaving open in the kitchen.
I guess it depends on the species, they have similar habits when it comes to infesting/set up home in the interior of buildings in winter time...
Field mice: Field mice are usually brown or gray fur with lighter colored bellies, have bodies that are around 3-4 inches in length, and have a shorter, hairless tail. House mice: House mice are a lighter brown or gray fur, have bodies that are usually 2-3.5 inches in length, and have longer tails that do have hair
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Once we have caught the varmint I will try to determine the species. It was a dark brown colour though, so probably a field mouse. I baited the trap with a whole almond, which should be a delicacy for a mouse it’s size, so we will see if it goes for it.
How is the mouse-hunt going? Does he have a name? Maybe the Dampé the Dutch mouse?
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
The mouse has so far cleverly avoided all attempts to trap him. He must be a high IQ mouse. Or he doesn’t like peanut butter and almonds. We will try some other mouse delights.
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
Weasels are great mouse traps. We've got so many mice, the weasels are coming into the garage for a few fast, easy meals. Thinking of leaving the door open so they can get into the house.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Mice are good jumpers @Jeroen.... how high/deep is the bucket?
It might be best to purchase/invest in one of these...
Just make sure when you put the bait in, to put it in a corner ( I have found the best type of bait to use is small pieces of white chocolate) and not close to the funnel entrance, if the bait is close to the funnel entrance the mouse will just reach down and take the bait, but if the bait is positioned in a corner, the mouse has to squeeze it's whole body through the funnel entrance to get to the food and in doing so, it can't get back up out ....
I've used these types of traps many times and they work quite well...
@Shoshin1 said:
Xmas day here, and it's overcast and humid, it rain a bit earlier ...
...the beautiful flowering Pōhutukawa trees are loving it ... May I ask where is this place you live. It looks beautiful.
@DagobahZen said:
May I ask where is this place you live. It looks beautiful.
Kia Ora @DagobahZen
I live on a small island called Waiheke situated in the Hauraki Gulf around a 35/40 minute ferry ride from Auckland city Aotearoa (NZ)....
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I ate escargot today… very small ones in puff pastry… without knowing it. It was very filling.
Our Zoomed meditation this morning was punctuated with the barking of Steller Sea lions greeting the dawn from Trial Island, 2 miles away from this computer's microphone.
i thoroughly recommend @how and the barking, tap dancing, mind caging …
Most of the time I could only hear my own thoughts (something I wouldn't wish on anyone but The Buddha) 🐣
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I was watching The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on DVD a few days ago, and suddenly somewhere in the middle of the film the disc started to hang, the picture would pause and after a minute or so would pick up again. It turns out the disc has degraded due to age…
So I did a little research, and it seems that DVDs are only good for something like 20-30 years in the usual conditions. That disc was bought in 2004 or so, so it has had a good run, but this was a bit of a shock to the system.
You see, I have a sizeable DVD collection, most of which date from before 2010 and I feel it would be a shame to throw them all in a skip at some point. I always thought DVDs were a bit like vinyl records, good for a very long time unless you scratched them, but apparently not.
the dream I had (about trying to catch a group of mice and hamsters with my bare hands)>
Apologies for this - it is unlikely to be in any way helpful, but I am reminded of something my sister experienced years ago, after deciding to leave the mice in her (very wildlife porous) house alone and to let them do as they pleased.
In the final act of this little farce, the mice were scampering across her body and nibbling at her fingers as she slept, or, rather, tried to sleep.
Nowadays, I think, she is trying to slaughter the lot of them with electric traps.
I saw the mouse again last night, it was making its way rapidly along the plint in the living room. The varmint! He is giving me unpleasant dreams…
It sound's like it's made itself at home (both mentally and physically) and in time it will most probably invite family and friends over to a home warming party... They are real party animals ....BTW rodents use their incisors like chisels...
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Thanks, @shoshin1 and @fosdick, you have not cheered me up in the slightest about the dire predicament. But this house is basically a concrete box with thick wooden plinths, not easy for a mouse to make its way through.
On a more serious note @Jeroen, the house mouse (Mus musculus) reaches sexual maturity in around six weeks, a female can have between 6 to 10 litters in it's lifetime,( around one year) with up to 6 pups per litter...
This is why it is important to carry out a preemptive strike by setting humane traps as soon as one is spotted, or you could end up with an infestation on your hands...
You can use a black light to light up the urine that mice dribble when they run. Tracing these urine paths can lead you to the water & food supply sources that they are depending on, or to the means by which they are coming in or out of your home.
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Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
They have whetted their teeth against the stones,
And now they pick the bishop’s bones;
They gnawed the flesh from every limb,
For they were sent to punish him!>
And this actually happened to my wife as she was meditating - er, more or less. I don't think the mouse was actually meditating.
I think it is time we open up a "Of Mice and Zen" thread to continue these adventures hahah. I have encountered myself some mice but the garzas that live around the island do a good job.
Happy New Year to all. Mice, men, women, lobsters, etc..
I like mice, I like rats, wasps, bees and clouds. Yesterday a bumble bee bumped into me. I was unharmed ...
I don't like midges, even if they wear kilts. My apologises for my favouritism. Clouds may be Buddhas, so quite happy with them ...
This morning I had my head up for other reasons...
Seagulls letting me and others know that we are not welcome on this stretch of road..
I did see some joggers take cover under the tree, my approach is to just ignored them, they swoop down close to my head but never actually touch me...They are just trying to intimidate....
I would love to know what they are actually saying in Seagull talk...most probably "F off humans your kind is not welcome here"...
I can't remember which Disney animation film it was, but the only word their Seagulls ever said was "mine".
As someone who has grown up around them on the Pacific Coast, it sure fits the bill.
Comments
This morning it is overcast hot and humid...It's threatening to rain but the weather hasn't quite made up its mind...
Just been to the supermarket , hoping to get the shopping done before the mad rush of tourists arrived...no such luck, the supermarket was chock-a-block full of them...They are just as bad pushing their trollies down the aisles as they are driving on our narrow roads...And the village is getting busy too...
It didn't rain after all, it turned out to be a hot sunny (and sweaty) day...
The beautiful Pohutukawa trees are in full bloom...
We call Pohutukawa trees Aotearoa's (NZ) Christmas trees because they flower in December..
I found a homeless man yesterday feeding a street mouse. It was so curious to watch how the mouse knew it could trust him.
It's hot around 26c and the water is warm... And the temperature is meant to get higher.
Not long to Xmas holidays...
Aaargh. Mice! Fine outside, not so good inside!
I understand. I remember in Germany it was quite a burden when I was living in the countryside. I would capture and them away with my bicycle to the woods, just return them to nature. The culprit were some crisps we kept leaving open in the kitchen.
Ñam ñam biosnacks.
They are called house mouse for a reason ...
I thought they were called field mouse
I guess it depends on the species, they have similar habits when it comes to infesting/set up home in the interior of buildings in winter time...
Once we have caught the varmint I will try to determine the species. It was a dark brown colour though, so probably a field mouse. I baited the trap with a whole almond, which should be a delicacy for a mouse it’s size, so we will see if it goes for it.
Xmas day here, and it's overcast and humid, it rain a bit earlier ...
...the beautiful flowering Pōhutukawa trees are loving it ...
How is the mouse-hunt going? Does he have a name? Maybe the Dampé the Dutch mouse?
The mouse has so far cleverly avoided all attempts to trap him. He must be a high IQ mouse. Or he doesn’t like peanut butter and almonds. We will try some other mouse delights.
My favourite bait was bio-ecological coconut chips. Mice in Germany go mad for those.
What type of trap are you using @Jeroen ?
Stoned mice ?
Weasels are great mouse traps. We've got so many mice, the weasels are coming into the garage for a few fast, easy meals. Thinking of leaving the door open so they can get into the house.
It’s a plastic bucket with a cantilevered trap door on top. With a set of mouse stairs going up the side.
Mice are good jumpers @Jeroen.... how high/deep is the bucket?
It might be best to purchase/invest in one of these...
Just make sure when you put the bait in, to put it in a corner ( I have found the best type of bait to use is small pieces of white chocolate) and not close to the funnel entrance, if the bait is close to the funnel entrance the mouse will just reach down and take the bait, but if the bait is positioned in a corner, the mouse has to squeeze it's whole body through the funnel entrance to get to the food and in doing so, it can't get back up out ....
I've used these types of traps many times and they work quite well...
Or you could make your own...
Kia Ora @DagobahZen
I live on a small island called Waiheke situated in the Hauraki Gulf around a 35/40 minute ferry ride from Auckland city Aotearoa (NZ)....
I ate escargot today… very small ones in puff pastry… without knowing it. It was very filling.
Our Zoomed meditation this morning was punctuated with the barking of Steller Sea lions greeting the dawn from Trial Island, 2 miles away from this computer's microphone.
Was it worse than when my hedgehog began destroying his cage and interrupting the session?
I remember Lobster saying it seemed someone was tap dancing haha
i thoroughly recommend @how and the barking, tap dancing, mind caging …
Most of the time I could only hear my own thoughts (something I wouldn't wish on anyone but The Buddha) 🐣
I was watching The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on DVD a few days ago, and suddenly somewhere in the middle of the film the disc started to hang, the picture would pause and after a minute or so would pick up again. It turns out the disc has degraded due to age…
So I did a little research, and it seems that DVDs are only good for something like 20-30 years in the usual conditions. That disc was bought in 2004 or so, so it has had a good run, but this was a bit of a shock to the system.
You see, I have a sizeable DVD collection, most of which date from before 2010 and I feel it would be a shame to throw them all in a skip at some point. I always thought DVDs were a bit like vinyl records, good for a very long time unless you scratched them, but apparently not.
It's New Year's eve here, it's hot humid and bucketing down....
I bought a coconut!
I managed to get the coconut-water out, it is very delicious!
I did not manage to break the coconut to get to the coconut-meat! I banged for ages with both a knife and a hammer but without success.
Any ideas?
A chisel?
I saw the mouse again last night, it was making its way rapidly along the plint in the living room. The varmint! He is giving me unpleasant dreams…
Drop it from a height onto concrete...just make sure nobody is underneath at the time
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/40-of-us-electricity-is-now-emissions-free/
Forty percent… that is stunning compared to what it used to be. In a good way.
@Jeroen (from another thread)
Apologies for this - it is unlikely to be in any way helpful, but I am reminded of something my sister experienced years ago, after deciding to leave the mice in her (very wildlife porous) house alone and to let them do as they pleased.
In the final act of this little farce, the mice were scampering across her body and nibbling at her fingers as she slept, or, rather, tried to sleep.
Nowadays, I think, she is trying to slaughter the lot of them with electric traps.
It sound's like it's made itself at home (both mentally and physically) and in time it will most probably invite family and friends over to a home warming party... They are real party animals
....BTW rodents use their incisors like chisels...
Thanks, @shoshin1 and @fosdick, you have not cheered me up in the slightest about the dire predicament. But this house is basically a concrete box with thick wooden plinths, not easy for a mouse to make its way through.
On a more serious note @Jeroen, the house mouse (Mus musculus) reaches sexual maturity in around six weeks, a female can have between 6 to 10 litters in it's lifetime,( around one year) with up to 6 pups per litter...
This is why it is important to carry out a preemptive strike by setting humane traps as soon as one is spotted, or you could end up with an infestation on your hands...
@Fosdick's sister learnt this the hard way....
You can use a black light to light up the urine that mice dribble when they run. Tracing these urine paths can lead you to the water & food supply sources that they are depending on, or to the means by which they are coming in or out of your home.
I am, regrettably, also reminded of the legend of the mouse tower - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_Tower
And this actually happened to my wife as she was meditating - er, more or less. I don't think the mouse was actually meditating.
I think it is time we open up a "Of Mice and Zen" thread to continue these adventures hahah. I have encountered myself some mice but the garzas that live around the island do a good job.
Happy New Year to all. Mice, men, women, lobsters, etc..
@Jeroen if you think you have a problem, spare a thought for the Aussies...
Now, did I really need to see that? I’m already dreaming of the wee critters. We need more cats!
Had my head in the clouds on this morning's jolk...
Beautiful cloud formation with the moon in the distance...
I like mice, I like rats, wasps, bees and clouds. Yesterday a bumble bee bumped into me. I was unharmed ...
I don't like midges, even if they wear kilts. My apologises for my favouritism. Clouds may be Buddhas, so quite happy with them ...
This morning I had my head up for other reasons...
Seagulls letting me and others know that we are not welcome on this stretch of road..
I did see some joggers take cover under the tree, my approach is to just ignored them, they swoop down close to my head but never actually touch me...They are just trying to intimidate....
I would love to know what they are actually saying in Seagull talk...most probably "F off humans your kind is not welcome here"...
I can't remember which Disney animation film it was, but the only word their Seagulls ever said was "mine".
As someone who has grown up around them on the Pacific Coast, it sure fits the bill.
Speak to the animals ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Livingston_Seagull
I think that was in Pixar’s Finding Nemo…
My stepfather was taken to the hospital by ambulance this morning after suffering a stomach bleed overnight…
....> @marcitko said:
Did you crack the case ?