Notes from Cottage Hill Farm

January 05 continued....



Its' a beautiful sunny day. My goal was to finish unpacking the many boxes still stacked in the mud room. I am certain the movers have made a mistake.This could not be all ours.Somethings I don't even recognize, others I forgot I had.



As I mentioned it's a beautiful, sunny day. Something we haven't seen in a couple of weeks. Taking a break from unpacking, I decide to take advantage of the sunlight and clean the sliding glass doors. All of a sudden, the biggest "rat" I have ever seen is leaning on the glass peering into the room at me! I am sure this rodent is capable of chewing through the door seeing the size of his teeth.Not knowing what to do I phone Baird our country gentleman, from across the road. Within seconds, he appears with a club and mace. Baird inquires to the where abouts of "the largest rat known to man". Escorting him to the family room and the sliding glass door, Baird breaks out into a very disturbing laugh.."LaVerne, my dear.That is not a rat.That is what is known as a ground hog.He is after your bird feeders". My first response what the heck is a ground hog, are they carniverous and do they ever get in the house. Still laughing, Baird states,"not usually". I will bring over a "Have a Heart" trap and we will move him across Otter Creek. By tomorrow you'll be safe.



That night, while in bed, I hear the this continuous scratching. Putting on my bathrobe and grabbing a flashlight, I head for downstairs to investigate. It can't be "we" have trapped something? Peering through the window, I notice something black with white spots. It must be a poor cat, trapped in the jaws of the "Have a Heart" trap. All I could see was black and white fur.

Reassured, that it wasn't a skunk (skunks have white strips, not dots!) I crept slowly to set this poor animal free..



After sitting in the shower for forty-five minutes, (yes, the plumbing does work) and going through a bottle of shampoo, I resorted to a bottle of vinegar to remove the stench.



Baird? Does Vermont have skunks with spots? "Well yes, why?" Nothing. I guess we caught a skunk last night. Well, I let him out and he wasn't very friendly. I didn't mention the shower.