It’s not yet cold here in Oysterville – not frost-on-the-pumpkin cold – but the rain and wind of winter are definitely upon us. And that means that our furred and feathered friends are in preparation mode. Translation: the rodent population is taking cover, often in our garages or sheds or other convenient locations.

Oysterville’s human residents are gearing up for the onslaught, as well. Jack’s Country Store is probably doing a booming business in mousetraps and at least one of our neighbors has acquired a cat specifically to chase down those pesky little critters that have taken up residence in his house. I’ve re-baited and reset the mousetraps as well as the rat traps out in our ‘back forty,’ but I hope-against-hope that the traps aren’t successful, at least not until Nyel is able to deal with them.

Set!

Actually, I’m fine with the mousetraps; it’s the rat-catchers that I am squeamish about. In any case, I made sure to attach strings to each trap so that they don’t walk away – you know the old joke: snap, pause, scurry-thump, scurry-thump, scurry-thump. I think we are all set… so to speak.

As I was readying those traps, I couldn’t help but think about our interaction with the critters that populate our surroundings. We seem to be conflicted in our attitudes.  Apparently, it’s okay to feed the birds but definitely not the bears. (And why wasn’t Mrs. Parks, the Bear Feeder of Sahalee, given more than a knuckle-rap, anyway?) And it’s all right to use old-fashioned style traps for rodents but be careful that the traps you use for moles are legal.

Bird Feeder

It’s fairly clear that we draw a line (albeit a wavery one) when we interfere with animals to the point that we are endangering ourselves or other humans. Endangering the animals, themselves, is trickier. I’m still not sure if the “Feed the Birds” example in Mary Poppins should be followed or not. I’ve read lots of pros and cons and even the ‘ifs’ as in “if you occasionally scrub your feeders with soap and water…” It’s probably fortunate that I only remember to fill those feeders now and then.

Peaceful co-existence is probably the goal. But… I don’t think it’s possible, even here in Oysterville.