February 26, 2011
February 20, 2011
The Dune Eco Beach Pondicherry - Baywatch 7
We traveled to Pondicherry a couple of weeks ago and stayed at one of the more unique places we have found during our time in India. We stayed the Dune Eco resort, which I highly recommend. The resort offers quite an array of different types of rooms. They vary from fully enclosed and air conditioned to down right primitive. We chose the latter and stayed in a hut constructed of bamboo lashed together with rope with a palm frond roof. Of course this was not the least bit airtight and we could see the ground right through the floor and the sky right through the ceiling. I slept like a baby both nights, lulled to sleep by the ceaselessly crashing waves on the nearby beach. The beds came with netting so mosquitoes were not a problem. Anything else that might get in, we just didn't think about. After all, we KNEW there was a rat waiting for us back in our house in Bangalore.
Bats & Beehives
During his Sunday morning bike ride through the country side east of Bangalore, Larrie came upon this tree full of bats and beehives. These fruit bats have a wingspan of MORE THAN FOUR FEET and are also called flying foxes..
February 15, 2011
Some suggestions for a move to Bangalore
Best Things We Brought
• Our cats – they made Bangalore seem like home. It was expensive, but worth every penny to us.
• Brita water pitcher – takes any leftover flavor out of the already UV filtered water.
• Crocs – great shoes for here because they are relatively comfortable, water proof, and can be easily soaped and cleaned. Tivas or anything similar would be good too.
• Bicycles – Palm Meadows is great for riding around, especially with kids.
• Scooter - Jessi likes to zip around and doesn’t complain about going with us for a walk if she can use her scooter.
• GPS – Larrie enjoys riding his bike east of Bangalore in the villages and country side. It has been very handy for that and trips to other cities.
• Camera – when we moved here, they were significantly more expensive here for the exact same model we purchased at Target. $250 in B’lore –vs- $150 in Minneapolis.
• Laptop – as we have traveled around, most hotels have wifi so it has come in handy to keep in touch, as well as to look up tourist destinations and information while we’ve been on the road. They are also cheaper in the U.S. for the most common brands though there is not as significant a difference in price as for cameras.
• iPod / iPad – good for using when wifi is available for email, Skype, games, videos etc. when a laptop is bigger than what you want to carry around
• Nintendo DS – great for traveling in the car for Jessi. It takes much longer to get anywhere here due to the heavy traffic and bumps in the road.
• Mobal phone – this is a pay by the minute international phone that works in almost all countries in the world. Mobal is the brand. You only are charged when you use it. We will let it sit for months at a time then use it when we travel out of India. (My work cell phone only works in India).
• Copier / scanner / printer device – an inexpensive multi device has been extremely handy for business transactions with the United State. We’ve had a number of documents we’ve needed to print, sign, scan, and email back; especially for our house purchase in Plymouth. It has also been very handy for scanning documents for insurance claims. Larrie won one just before we left town. We saw the same model on clearance at Target for $30.
• French press for coffee or percolator – power often goes to backup generator in Palm Meadows. When that happens, a coffee maker, microwave, toaster oven, dryer, water filter, water heater, etc. does not work. (Lights and TV stay on.) Also coffee makers are very expensive here.
• Toilet paper – if you like it soft and absorbent. We have yet to find cushy toilet paper here. Most is rough and thin.
• Travel Kleenex packs – many rest rooms will not have toilet paper.
• Purel – many rest rooms will not have soap.
• Folding lawn chairs & folding patio tables – Bangalore almost always has beautiful weather so we spend significant time outdoors. These have come in handy for barbeques, parties, and just hanging out.
• Web cam – nice for staying in touch with family back home
• Step Ladder – keeps the service providers from using the excuse that they can’t do the work until they have a ladder and then not showing back up for a few more days. Plus just generally handy for getting cobwebs off the high ceilings and changing light bulbs.
• Tool box – Larrie has found lots of uses for his tools for dripping faucets, tightening cupboard doors etc. It take a long time to get the rental agency to fix anything like that.
• Universal plug adapters – this has been handy as we’ve traveled to other countries outside of India. There is quite a variety of electric outlet configurations.
• Grill – we use it often since the weather is so nice. We use real coal here.
• Lawry Seasoning Salt – a taste home for food cooked on the grill
• Cooler – to keep the beer cold when grilling. You can buy them here on occasion, but they are VERY expensive.
• Mattress – typical beds in India are much firmer than in the U.S. If you like it soft, bring your own or a good thick mattress pad.
• Citronella candles – nice for sitting outside at dusk when the mosquitoes appear.
• Bug spray – such as Deep Woods Off and your favorite kind for your kids. Mosquitoes aren’t too much of a problem during the day in Bangalore so we ended up with way more than we needed.
• Board games, playing cards – fun way to spend time with the other expats
• Favorite DVDs – cable is available here (Disney, Nick, etc.) and has a number of familiar children’s program though.
• Swim goggles – lots of swimming opportunities are available
• Crop pants – You don’t commonly see women wearing shorts but crop pants are very acceptable.
• Pots, pans, and favorite cooking tools – the basics are in the house but wasn’t adequate for things we like to cook.
• Over the counter kids medicine
1. Advil, Tylenol
2. Anti-itch crème, Benadryl, sunscreen
3. Cold Medicines
4. Imodium, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol and other stomach medicine
• Vitamins
• Prescriptions
• Preferred personal products for deodorant, shampoo, pads, etc.
• Lego – hours of fun for the whole family and the neighborhood kids too.
What I wish I would have brought
• Folding Quad chairs – since the weather is so nice, we tend to socialize quite a bit more or go to the park. The folding quad chairs are easy to take along for a comfortable seat.
• Extra radio batteries and Triple A’s – These are hard to find. Double A’s are readily available everywhere.
• More holiday plates and decorations – makes it feel more like home to have reminders of the traditional American holidays
• A light that automatically turns on when the power at the outlet goes off – would be handy on the rare times when the power is out more than a few minutes before the backup generator fires up.
• A tent – it would have been fun to camp in something that would keep bugs and snakes out.
• Our bike trailer – would have come in useful to haul items back from nearby businesses by bicycle, since we don’t have access to a car all the time.
• Jumper cables – after initially publishing this list, two people mentioned how difficult (impossible) they are to find in Bangalore. In fact, the Bangalore native next door picked his up in California.
What I didn’t need
• 24 bottles of my favorite lotion - it is humid here so skin doesn’t dry out link in Minneapolis. I’m taking 237/8 bottles back home.
• A dozen pairs of socks – the only time I’ve worn socks is for trips home to Minneapolis and during layovers in Europe. A couple of pairs will do.
• Ant traps - The types of ants here in India, do not recognize the U.S. ant traps as food and therefore the traps are ineffective. The just walk right over the top.
Favorite things I purchased here
• Hammock – cheap and I use it often because the weather is so nice
• Bar – there is beautiful Teak furniture available here for very good prices, especially at Tahr. We bought a nice fold up bar that is unlike anything I’ve seen in the U.S. for an extremely reasonable cost. I’m quite sure it would have cost 4x as much in the U.S. All sorts of table, chests, and cupboards can be found.
• Toaster oven – generally houses here will not have ovens. Buying a small toaster oven has allowed us to back cookies, pies, and cakes for some comfort food from home. Best to buy it here because of the 220v power source.
• Electric tea kettle – quicker to warm up water than on the stove. Best to buy it here because of the 220v power source.
• Scarves for gifts – they are inexpensive and it is fun to take a whole stack back to the U.S. and let people pick their own from it.
• Children’s books – you can often buy hardback familiar titles for less than paperback in the U.S.
• Electrified mosquito swatter – handy if mosquitoes start hatching in your house. We haven’t had many until the last two months and now we can’t seem to overcome them. I’m getting bit inside my house way more than when I am outside.
• Charcoal starter can – makes getting the coal hot much easier for firing up the grill
• Labradorite – as pretty as opal and very inexpensive.
• Sterling silver – very good prices.
• Silk – beautiful patterns.
Best Online Services
• iTunes Store / App Store - for movie rentals or purchase and downloading games, music, etc.
• Amazon kindle downloads – to get newest books. I’ve used this when I’ve wanted a specific title. There are good bookstores here and books are less expensive but when you want something specific Amazon might be easier.
• Skype service plan with an external Minneapolis phone number – allows family / friends in the U.S. to call for the same price they would pay to call my in Minnesota. Also very handy to give to insurance companies etc. since many people don’t know how to call India or have their phones enabled for international calling.
• Realtor.Com / Zillow.Com – used to find a house to buy long distance in the Twin Cities.
• Google Earth – great for getting a lay of the land.
• www.earthclassmail.com – PO Box, Mail scanning and forwarding service.
• Our cats – they made Bangalore seem like home. It was expensive, but worth every penny to us.
• Brita water pitcher – takes any leftover flavor out of the already UV filtered water.
• Crocs – great shoes for here because they are relatively comfortable, water proof, and can be easily soaped and cleaned. Tivas or anything similar would be good too.
• Bicycles – Palm Meadows is great for riding around, especially with kids.
• Scooter - Jessi likes to zip around and doesn’t complain about going with us for a walk if she can use her scooter.
• GPS – Larrie enjoys riding his bike east of Bangalore in the villages and country side. It has been very handy for that and trips to other cities.
• Camera – when we moved here, they were significantly more expensive here for the exact same model we purchased at Target. $250 in B’lore –vs- $150 in Minneapolis.
• Laptop – as we have traveled around, most hotels have wifi so it has come in handy to keep in touch, as well as to look up tourist destinations and information while we’ve been on the road. They are also cheaper in the U.S. for the most common brands though there is not as significant a difference in price as for cameras.
• iPod / iPad – good for using when wifi is available for email, Skype, games, videos etc. when a laptop is bigger than what you want to carry around
• Nintendo DS – great for traveling in the car for Jessi. It takes much longer to get anywhere here due to the heavy traffic and bumps in the road.
• Mobal phone – this is a pay by the minute international phone that works in almost all countries in the world. Mobal is the brand. You only are charged when you use it. We will let it sit for months at a time then use it when we travel out of India. (My work cell phone only works in India).
• Copier / scanner / printer device – an inexpensive multi device has been extremely handy for business transactions with the United State. We’ve had a number of documents we’ve needed to print, sign, scan, and email back; especially for our house purchase in Plymouth. It has also been very handy for scanning documents for insurance claims. Larrie won one just before we left town. We saw the same model on clearance at Target for $30.
• French press for coffee or percolator – power often goes to backup generator in Palm Meadows. When that happens, a coffee maker, microwave, toaster oven, dryer, water filter, water heater, etc. does not work. (Lights and TV stay on.) Also coffee makers are very expensive here.
• Toilet paper – if you like it soft and absorbent. We have yet to find cushy toilet paper here. Most is rough and thin.
• Travel Kleenex packs – many rest rooms will not have toilet paper.
• Purel – many rest rooms will not have soap.
• Folding lawn chairs & folding patio tables – Bangalore almost always has beautiful weather so we spend significant time outdoors. These have come in handy for barbeques, parties, and just hanging out.
• Web cam – nice for staying in touch with family back home
• Step Ladder – keeps the service providers from using the excuse that they can’t do the work until they have a ladder and then not showing back up for a few more days. Plus just generally handy for getting cobwebs off the high ceilings and changing light bulbs.
• Tool box – Larrie has found lots of uses for his tools for dripping faucets, tightening cupboard doors etc. It take a long time to get the rental agency to fix anything like that.
• Universal plug adapters – this has been handy as we’ve traveled to other countries outside of India. There is quite a variety of electric outlet configurations.
• Grill – we use it often since the weather is so nice. We use real coal here.
• Lawry Seasoning Salt – a taste home for food cooked on the grill
• Cooler – to keep the beer cold when grilling. You can buy them here on occasion, but they are VERY expensive.
• Mattress – typical beds in India are much firmer than in the U.S. If you like it soft, bring your own or a good thick mattress pad.
• Citronella candles – nice for sitting outside at dusk when the mosquitoes appear.
• Bug spray – such as Deep Woods Off and your favorite kind for your kids. Mosquitoes aren’t too much of a problem during the day in Bangalore so we ended up with way more than we needed.
• Board games, playing cards – fun way to spend time with the other expats
• Favorite DVDs – cable is available here (Disney, Nick, etc.) and has a number of familiar children’s program though.
• Swim goggles – lots of swimming opportunities are available
• Crop pants – You don’t commonly see women wearing shorts but crop pants are very acceptable.
• Pots, pans, and favorite cooking tools – the basics are in the house but wasn’t adequate for things we like to cook.
• Over the counter kids medicine
1. Advil, Tylenol
2. Anti-itch crème, Benadryl, sunscreen
3. Cold Medicines
4. Imodium, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol and other stomach medicine
• Vitamins
• Prescriptions
• Preferred personal products for deodorant, shampoo, pads, etc.
• Lego – hours of fun for the whole family and the neighborhood kids too.
What I wish I would have brought
• Folding Quad chairs – since the weather is so nice, we tend to socialize quite a bit more or go to the park. The folding quad chairs are easy to take along for a comfortable seat.
• Extra radio batteries and Triple A’s – These are hard to find. Double A’s are readily available everywhere.
• More holiday plates and decorations – makes it feel more like home to have reminders of the traditional American holidays
• A light that automatically turns on when the power at the outlet goes off – would be handy on the rare times when the power is out more than a few minutes before the backup generator fires up.
• A tent – it would have been fun to camp in something that would keep bugs and snakes out.
• Our bike trailer – would have come in useful to haul items back from nearby businesses by bicycle, since we don’t have access to a car all the time.
• Jumper cables – after initially publishing this list, two people mentioned how difficult (impossible) they are to find in Bangalore. In fact, the Bangalore native next door picked his up in California.
What I didn’t need
• 24 bottles of my favorite lotion - it is humid here so skin doesn’t dry out link in Minneapolis. I’m taking 237/8 bottles back home.
• A dozen pairs of socks – the only time I’ve worn socks is for trips home to Minneapolis and during layovers in Europe. A couple of pairs will do.
• Ant traps - The types of ants here in India, do not recognize the U.S. ant traps as food and therefore the traps are ineffective. The just walk right over the top.
Favorite things I purchased here
• Hammock – cheap and I use it often because the weather is so nice
• Bar – there is beautiful Teak furniture available here for very good prices, especially at Tahr. We bought a nice fold up bar that is unlike anything I’ve seen in the U.S. for an extremely reasonable cost. I’m quite sure it would have cost 4x as much in the U.S. All sorts of table, chests, and cupboards can be found.
• Toaster oven – generally houses here will not have ovens. Buying a small toaster oven has allowed us to back cookies, pies, and cakes for some comfort food from home. Best to buy it here because of the 220v power source.
• Electric tea kettle – quicker to warm up water than on the stove. Best to buy it here because of the 220v power source.
• Scarves for gifts – they are inexpensive and it is fun to take a whole stack back to the U.S. and let people pick their own from it.
• Children’s books – you can often buy hardback familiar titles for less than paperback in the U.S.
• Electrified mosquito swatter – handy if mosquitoes start hatching in your house. We haven’t had many until the last two months and now we can’t seem to overcome them. I’m getting bit inside my house way more than when I am outside.
• Charcoal starter can – makes getting the coal hot much easier for firing up the grill
• Labradorite – as pretty as opal and very inexpensive.
• Sterling silver – very good prices.
• Silk – beautiful patterns.
Best Online Services
• iTunes Store / App Store - for movie rentals or purchase and downloading games, music, etc.
• Amazon kindle downloads – to get newest books. I’ve used this when I’ve wanted a specific title. There are good bookstores here and books are less expensive but when you want something specific Amazon might be easier.
• Skype service plan with an external Minneapolis phone number – allows family / friends in the U.S. to call for the same price they would pay to call my in Minnesota. Also very handy to give to insurance companies etc. since many people don’t know how to call India or have their phones enabled for international calling.
• Realtor.Com / Zillow.Com – used to find a house to buy long distance in the Twin Cities.
• Google Earth – great for getting a lay of the land.
• www.earthclassmail.com – PO Box, Mail scanning and forwarding service.
February 9, 2011
Poinsettias bushes are amazing in Bangalore
(And no, I don't spell colorful with a OU now. My computer did that because big brother knows I'm in a place that uses British spellings. Scary huh?)
Note traffic coming towards us on both sides of the car
A man in India told me once: "We don't drive on the left of the road, we drive on whatever is left of the road." Yep, I believe that now. I've learned to either distract myself by closing my eyes or getting out my camera
Seriously, could even one more stick of sugar cane be loaded on that truck?
February 8, 2011
Change I got when I bought a 25Rs Coke with a 100Rs bill
Things that go Bump in the Night
I was doing a late night email after returning from Pondy over the road from hell, and I heard a "clink" sound in the kitchen. A glass had fallen over ....
Rewind four days.
It was Friday morning, and we were to get up early for a road trip to Pondy with Jess and Tash (Jess' new BFF). I stumbled out of bed and into the common area upstairs where the computer is, turned on the light, and noticed that both cats were sitting on the Lego table intently watching the corner where the cat food boxes are. I knew something was afoot as the only things the boys stare intently at - are alive.
As I moved closer to see what the boys were interested in, a dark shape dropped out of the curtain and onto the floor - scurrying behind the cat food bins. OK, this is not how to start the day of a seven hour drive to the beach.
Rewind four weeks, more.
Something had been chewing holes in the master bath screen. As we have noted before, we have windows open 24x7x365 for ventilation. The open windows have screens in an attempt to keep the bugs out - I say attempt as is that only, an attempt. When the first hole appeared, I covered it with duct tape and thought nothing of it. Then a second, and a third hole appeared - all in the same window. Something wanted in the house, what could it be?
The neighborhood has striped squirrels (about the size of chipmunks) running all over the place. The sides of the houses, being stucco, are just another raceway for them. So, I thought a squirrel was what was eating holes in the bathroom screen. I swapped out the screen with another bathroom whose window is not open, and I thought, problem solved.
Then one day, I noticed a pile of scat and evidence of urine on the ledge outside Jess' window. I told Jess that she must have a squirrel living outside her window - I mean, what else could it be, right? This is on the second floor of the house.
Then the holes started appearing in the big window in the upstairs common room - the Lego / computer room - where the cats eat. Patch one, done. Patch two, done, and I notice some cat food on the ledge outside. Hrmm, maybe the squirrels like cat food. Patch three, done, and a bigger pile of cat food outside. The squirrel is a hoarder! OK, time for action.
We had bought some screening material in the past, and I had a chunk left over. This stuff, while plastic, is pretty tough. So I put the tuff screen up on the outside of the wrought iron grate in the window. Thinking, problem solved, but if the stiffer screening didn't work, I was prepared to go to full on war. In my thoughts, I was devising a 220v squirrel zapper. However, before the new screen went up, an unrelated phenomenon, which turned out to be related.
One day I was sitting at the computer, and I noticed two red ants walking up a wire. After dispatching them to the great beyond, and working for a bit, I noticed the swarm of red ants coming in through the window. Well, this was war, and I furiously beat them back with a newspaper - no insecticide, as it might harm the cats. A few stragglers caused me to dismantle the cat food bins in the corner, where I discovered a small roach infestation. Pest escalation, time to get the maxo-kill-the-damn-bug juice out. The cats were napping in the bedroom though all the paper whacking; so, I closed the door and nuked the roaches. During the cleanup after the war, I noticed what I thought was roach scat, and I thought, wow, these guys really leave a load behind - they were somewhat sizable roaches, you see.
Now, I know what you're thinking, "Larrie needs to be better at scat identification", and while that might be true, it's not gonna happen. Boy children spend a great deal of time discussing the various attributes of scats, but by the time you're my age - that need is done and gone, unless of course you're around grandchildren.
Ok, back to four days back time.
I started to remove objects from the corner to get a better view of what I was encountering, and for the first time, I noticed that this thing did not have stripes (Damn!), and wow, cat food really does gloss up a fur coat - hi pro glow! It is 4:45 am, and I am standing in my skivvies, the cats are intently watching my every move, and the girls are still sawing logs. So, it is time to work out a plan.
I closed the door to the bedroom. Who knows how much bedlam would have ensued if a rous (rodent of unusual size) had run into the bedroom. So, protect the innocent, check, done. Next arm yourself. I go outside to the carport and get a long handled broom and a club. Not sure what I was thinking as in retrospect, it was pretty silly to do. Then, still in my skivvies, I start to pull the box back, thinking either the cats will jump it, or I will club it.
Ok, dear reader, you need to understand how we have desensitized the cats to the squirrels. The cats are allowed out on the patio to a certain degree, and they get very focused when a squirrel is in the trees, and they are admonished to ignore their instincts and sit quietly, which they are getting better at - as long as we're watching.
Which is what the cats did with the rous, they focused their attention, while sitting on the table, but did not go anywhere near the rat. After I pulled the bin out far enough, the rat scurried into the room. Little buggers are fast, which is why, in retrospect, it was pretty silly of me to get a broom and a club. Well, it went over the ledge and onto the stairs with a crash and thud, and the rous is now a resident of the first floor, and it is 5:15. Time to get the dead moving towards our trip.
I made coffee - it's easier to get Alli out of bed if you waft coffee under her nose, and I woke her with the tale of the previous 30 minutes activities; to which she regaled the scene coming to bed the prior night, highlighting it in an email to her boss composed while on the road to Pondy:
"If you need me in Minnesota or even Canada next week, I’m there for ya. I can "hit the ground running". I’m pretty sure Larrie can pack up for the move home, without me. I’m thinking a nice, cold country would resolve my critter problems.
So anyway… like I said, I’m ready to hit the ground “running”. J"
Back to current time.
I went down to kitchen to see if the "clink" was really what I thought it was, and yes, something had knocked over a glass. Damn! The rat was still in the house. It was time for an erattification, but not before sleep.
Sharanama (housekeeper) showed up today, and I told her that she and I were going rat hunting, and I layed out the plan. The look on her face was "that's not in my job description, ewww". Ok, I was solo in the quest.
The cats were fully aware of the rat, and apparently had ceded the ground floor to it. They were sleeping in Jess' room, and I just closed the door as I needed to have other outside doors open to provide an exit path for the blighter.
I pulled out the fridge, as I was convinced it was behind it - no rat. Not even rat scat. Then, using the broom, I started banging on the walls of the fridge, and the rat jumped down from the fridge condenser coil, and scurried into the washroom. Ok, one room down, one room to go. I went into the wash room, and closed the door - the washroom has the open door to the outside. I started poked around (with the broom handle) in the stuff where the rat had disappeared, and out it popped and jumped through the door to freedom. Rat, gone, and I closed the door.
After putting all the stuff away, fridge, etc., the boys sauntered down as if to say, is it gone? Big help having two cats in India is; although, Sharanama told me her cat does not trifle with rats, either. I wonder what it is about Indian rats that leave the cats quaking in their socks?
Endnote
As Alli proofread this story for me, she noted "that's not what happened", and then she told me her version of the truth. Long term relationships seem to require multiple versions of the truth to get a story told, and I sure some of you readers will notice the difference in this tale of the tell. It could be that in the excitement of encountering a rat in one's skivvies at 4:45 am, certain details get fogged; however, the important part is that the story and the relationship are a collaboration, and the rat is out of the house, and I am still here.
Rewind four days.
It was Friday morning, and we were to get up early for a road trip to Pondy with Jess and Tash (Jess' new BFF). I stumbled out of bed and into the common area upstairs where the computer is, turned on the light, and noticed that both cats were sitting on the Lego table intently watching the corner where the cat food boxes are. I knew something was afoot as the only things the boys stare intently at - are alive.
As I moved closer to see what the boys were interested in, a dark shape dropped out of the curtain and onto the floor - scurrying behind the cat food bins. OK, this is not how to start the day of a seven hour drive to the beach.
Rewind four weeks, more.
Something had been chewing holes in the master bath screen. As we have noted before, we have windows open 24x7x365 for ventilation. The open windows have screens in an attempt to keep the bugs out - I say attempt as is that only, an attempt. When the first hole appeared, I covered it with duct tape and thought nothing of it. Then a second, and a third hole appeared - all in the same window. Something wanted in the house, what could it be?
The neighborhood has striped squirrels (about the size of chipmunks) running all over the place. The sides of the houses, being stucco, are just another raceway for them. So, I thought a squirrel was what was eating holes in the bathroom screen. I swapped out the screen with another bathroom whose window is not open, and I thought, problem solved.
Then one day, I noticed a pile of scat and evidence of urine on the ledge outside Jess' window. I told Jess that she must have a squirrel living outside her window - I mean, what else could it be, right? This is on the second floor of the house.
Then the holes started appearing in the big window in the upstairs common room - the Lego / computer room - where the cats eat. Patch one, done. Patch two, done, and I notice some cat food on the ledge outside. Hrmm, maybe the squirrels like cat food. Patch three, done, and a bigger pile of cat food outside. The squirrel is a hoarder! OK, time for action.
We had bought some screening material in the past, and I had a chunk left over. This stuff, while plastic, is pretty tough. So I put the tuff screen up on the outside of the wrought iron grate in the window. Thinking, problem solved, but if the stiffer screening didn't work, I was prepared to go to full on war. In my thoughts, I was devising a 220v squirrel zapper. However, before the new screen went up, an unrelated phenomenon, which turned out to be related.
One day I was sitting at the computer, and I noticed two red ants walking up a wire. After dispatching them to the great beyond, and working for a bit, I noticed the swarm of red ants coming in through the window. Well, this was war, and I furiously beat them back with a newspaper - no insecticide, as it might harm the cats. A few stragglers caused me to dismantle the cat food bins in the corner, where I discovered a small roach infestation. Pest escalation, time to get the maxo-kill-the-damn-bug juice out. The cats were napping in the bedroom though all the paper whacking; so, I closed the door and nuked the roaches. During the cleanup after the war, I noticed what I thought was roach scat, and I thought, wow, these guys really leave a load behind - they were somewhat sizable roaches, you see.
Now, I know what you're thinking, "Larrie needs to be better at scat identification", and while that might be true, it's not gonna happen. Boy children spend a great deal of time discussing the various attributes of scats, but by the time you're my age - that need is done and gone, unless of course you're around grandchildren.
Ok, back to four days back time.
I started to remove objects from the corner to get a better view of what I was encountering, and for the first time, I noticed that this thing did not have stripes (Damn!), and wow, cat food really does gloss up a fur coat - hi pro glow! It is 4:45 am, and I am standing in my skivvies, the cats are intently watching my every move, and the girls are still sawing logs. So, it is time to work out a plan.
I closed the door to the bedroom. Who knows how much bedlam would have ensued if a rous (rodent of unusual size) had run into the bedroom. So, protect the innocent, check, done. Next arm yourself. I go outside to the carport and get a long handled broom and a club. Not sure what I was thinking as in retrospect, it was pretty silly to do. Then, still in my skivvies, I start to pull the box back, thinking either the cats will jump it, or I will club it.
Ok, dear reader, you need to understand how we have desensitized the cats to the squirrels. The cats are allowed out on the patio to a certain degree, and they get very focused when a squirrel is in the trees, and they are admonished to ignore their instincts and sit quietly, which they are getting better at - as long as we're watching.
Which is what the cats did with the rous, they focused their attention, while sitting on the table, but did not go anywhere near the rat. After I pulled the bin out far enough, the rat scurried into the room. Little buggers are fast, which is why, in retrospect, it was pretty silly of me to get a broom and a club. Well, it went over the ledge and onto the stairs with a crash and thud, and the rous is now a resident of the first floor, and it is 5:15. Time to get the dead moving towards our trip.
I made coffee - it's easier to get Alli out of bed if you waft coffee under her nose, and I woke her with the tale of the previous 30 minutes activities; to which she regaled the scene coming to bed the prior night, highlighting it in an email to her boss composed while on the road to Pondy:
"If you need me in Minnesota or even Canada next week, I’m there for ya. I can "hit the ground running". I’m pretty sure Larrie can pack up for the move home, without me. I’m thinking a nice, cold country would resolve my critter problems.
Forget bringing the squirrel trap. It turns out the striped squirrel invasion was just a happy hypothesis on Larrie’s part; probably to placate me. Last night when I arrived upstairs heading for sleep, I noticed one cat at full point, stalking something on the other side of the room, and the second cat in the doorway looking scared. It was 1 am so I thought about the possibilities: gecko, cockroaches, squirrel and decided I just didn’t want to know, and went to bed.
This morning I mentioned the cats’ strange behavior to Larrie and he went to investigate, valiant hunting cat, Jac, at his side. He swished the curtain and a ROUS fell out of the window sill. ROUS = Rodent of Unusual Size. A BIG BROWN RAT is what has been chewing its way through our window screens and coming into steal the cat food. Larrie had assumed it was squirrels entering because it’s the windows on the second floor of the house that are being attacked and the striped squirrels use the stucco on the side of the house like their own, personal, highways. Apparently rats can climb the stucco too.
Larrie went and got a broom, thinking he could smash the rat, I guess. Well, it took off in full bore linear panic and fell off the ledge near the stairs for a 12 foot gainer. Unlike a human falling 12 feet, apparently no fatal damage was done to the rat which is now scurrying around somewhere on our ground floor. I walked downstairs and noticed our scaredy cat, Ti, staring under the bar. I said “What?” and he startled and jumped about two feet backwards off the floor.
So now I have to sleep in the place knowing that rats are chewing on screens on all sides of our house trying to get in and one is running around the floor below me. I wonder where they relocated Debesh’s 5 foot rat snake. Maybe I could go get it.
Back to current time.
I went down to kitchen to see if the "clink" was really what I thought it was, and yes, something had knocked over a glass. Damn! The rat was still in the house. It was time for an erattification, but not before sleep.
Sharanama (housekeeper) showed up today, and I told her that she and I were going rat hunting, and I layed out the plan. The look on her face was "that's not in my job description, ewww". Ok, I was solo in the quest.
The cats were fully aware of the rat, and apparently had ceded the ground floor to it. They were sleeping in Jess' room, and I just closed the door as I needed to have other outside doors open to provide an exit path for the blighter.
I pulled out the fridge, as I was convinced it was behind it - no rat. Not even rat scat. Then, using the broom, I started banging on the walls of the fridge, and the rat jumped down from the fridge condenser coil, and scurried into the washroom. Ok, one room down, one room to go. I went into the wash room, and closed the door - the washroom has the open door to the outside. I started poked around (with the broom handle) in the stuff where the rat had disappeared, and out it popped and jumped through the door to freedom. Rat, gone, and I closed the door.
After putting all the stuff away, fridge, etc., the boys sauntered down as if to say, is it gone? Big help having two cats in India is; although, Sharanama told me her cat does not trifle with rats, either. I wonder what it is about Indian rats that leave the cats quaking in their socks?
Endnote
As Alli proofread this story for me, she noted "that's not what happened", and then she told me her version of the truth. Long term relationships seem to require multiple versions of the truth to get a story told, and I sure some of you readers will notice the difference in this tale of the tell. It could be that in the excitement of encountering a rat in one's skivvies at 4:45 am, certain details get fogged; however, the important part is that the story and the relationship are a collaboration, and the rat is out of the house, and I am still here.
February 7, 2011
Toilet paper? Preparation H? Or ???
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