Human excess

I believe I have watched play out this past few days the result of human excess.  Certainly climate change is the result of human excess but that is a large macro effect on our earth. On a small scale it is perhaps largely ignored and particularly by me as I am a sort of one event person. In my case when I returned to work outside the home I simply ignored all but the items that were of most interest to me namely supporting my family in their endeavours when it was possible and working. 

Although I place all the blame for the presence of rats/mice on the individual who dumped their pets out or perhaps just to be fair they escaped; none the less the ability of these two cabin-mates as they appeared to be when I saw them sneaking through foliage from beneath the purple lilac bush where they appear to have a "nest" next door and through the wooden fence between us into my yard and then up into my bird feeder was enabled by not adhering to what my husband said were the principles of maintaining a relatively rat/mouse free existence namely cutting down plant life around and close to the house (and he did say that to the neighbours for many years and probably they disliked him for it but he was like that my Edward!). We had already ten or more years ago seen the result of that excessive plant growth close to the house next door when a big black swamp rat walked up the chain link one day and into the yard next door but it was quickly eliminated by cutting down the excess plant life and I must say the family that lived there certainly saw to that very quickly (but they did have two young children) practically the next day and the vegetation was literally stripped half way back down the yard (perhaps a bit excessive) and it got the job done very quickly. The rat disappeared and was never seen again - a large black swamp rat. But these two cabin-mates as they looked to be were intimidated and frightened off by a single grey squirrel. Two feral rats would have had that squirrel for lunch and he/she knew it. But the squirrel was quietly eating on the flat feeder and the feeder is a good size actually and the two rats/mice arrived and moved to the far side. The grey squirrel quickly moved off - wild animals are very quick to protect themselves. I watched from my work window out of curiosity mostly. The grey squirrel sat on the fence contemplating (animals are really very clever) and then surprised me by returning to the feeder where he/she raised the tail as a threat. The two did not respond initially until he/she leapt at them and they ran away. Interesting I thought and conveyed it to my blog and mentioned that to the neighbours. That was when I learned why their feeders had suddenly disappeared. I was somewhat dismayed to hear that there was poisoned feed now in their yard as other rodent mammals run around the yards (rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks totally harmless rodents) but they had an exterminator I learned and so the days passed. I only briefly saw the pair and a/the grey squirrel again intimidated them and they never appeared in my yard again. 

There is a Black walnut tree in that yard close to our feeder actually and the squirrels will vigorously defend that I am sure. 

Since we did not see anything for a couple of weeks we did return to putting out our small amount of feed each day but did learn after a couple of days that at least one was still present so ceased using our large flat feeder (but we are stingy with the food which was my husband's way as he grew up in the country and knew all about rats and mice! I believed everything he said as he was always right!) although never did see the cabin mates again and my daughter was thrilled momentarily to have her birds, chipmunks and squirrels back to observe through the window. Having asthma is a downer for sure as this time of year with so many lilies in bloom she has to stay inside most of the time although kayaking along the Ottawa River also works as the lilies are not hardy enough to survive there. But we stopped feeding them again on the large feeder and we wait for the exterminator to come and pronounce the little cabin mates dead. 

But it was excess that brought them in - too much cover of plant life near the house and too much food available (their feeders were chock full often night and day and they were large feeders). We are stingy with the food so that there is not anything much first thing in the morning and gone mostly by night so not attractive to rats/mice who adore those times to eat it would appear - I am not an expert and we have only had two sightings of rats/mice in a built up area - 10 years or more ago and now!

Humans do need to learn to live with the planet and not try to control it - that is their excess and the children of the future will pay the price for that. Our First Nations peoples are well aware of all of these things and we do need to listen to their expertise on the subject. My husband was just a poor boy (his father died when he was two) raised by his mother who worked hard clerking in a store and perhaps one learns a lot when one is poor. No ideas on that but Edward did well going off to University (having an uncle who was a doctor was helpful for sure) and completing his PhD as well as his MLS which gave him a good job in his working life. Plus he enjoyed his retirement of 17+ years gardening, doing genealogy and entering back into science once again with his DNA work and genealogy.

Breakfast all done and this is the large cleaning day and the installation of the new storm doors. No more fighting to get out the door! Not that I go out often actually being pretty much a hermit although my daughter does drag me out just like my husband did to go shopping etc etc.