I have just won a battle! It should have been a quick victory but it grew to an event of almost biblical proportions. It wasn't really a David and Goliath battle because Goliath turned the story around.
When I arrived home I discovered I had unwittingly picked up a migrating mouse. Whether he decided to leave home when I was in Goombungee (where he had plenty of friends) or he found the railway repairs in Ipswich too noisy when I overnighted there or whether he hopped on board when I parked in the cul de sac up the road because our driveway was full, I couldn't decide. However it happened, I had a mouse.
Because I was planning for a couple of months close to home, I had emptied the van of clothes and food. My first indication of a stowaway was finding a couple of coffee sachets on the floor. Great! I had a rodent hyped up on coffee and bound up on foil packaging - but no other clues.
My first step was to put a block of Ratsak in the middle of the van floor. His first response was to have a very determined meal from the bait. Day 2, I was better prepared and he was obviously muscled up from rat bait and coffee. I replaced the Ratsak out in the middle and dusted liberally around it with talcum powder to track his movements. He was blatantly prepared to outwit me. He ignored the talc except to flick it around with his tail. He pushed or pulled the block of bait through the powder and stashed it behind the Porta Pottie (toilet). During the day, he moved it up and over a couple of small chocks of timber that wedged the toilet firmly to the wall. Somehow he then managed to drop it from the floor underneath to the step cavity. Nowhere to go from there! Two mouse traps and a smear of crunchy peanut butter later, I was the victor. But he was a very small mouse to have achieved so much. The traps stayed out a few more days but he was obviously a Solo traveller like me. Mighty Mouse!
You should see the van now. During the battle, I removed everything from the van - solar panels, chairs, cooking equipment, fishing gear, knitting projects, etc. My dear daughter threatened death and destruction if I dared bring anything into the house that might contain a mouse. I set up my portable shower tent in the driveway and filled it. After washing, cleaning, wiping out drawers and generally spring cleaning, I put it all back. It looks too neat to live in but I guess a few days on the road will take care of that.
I expect another month at home doing the school drop off and pick up. That's usually a Mum or Dad job but both have longer hours for a few weeks so I volunteered to do it during my recuperation time since my surgery last month. Then I will head north for another round of Nana duty in the next school holiday, having a bit of sightseeing on the way.
My itineraries have a habit of going adrift so I won't tempt fate by looking further ahead. But, just quietly, I have Boorowa (NSW), Canberra (ACT), Campbell Town and Pontville (Tas) firmly in my sights for the next twelve months.
