So…  when our washing machine blew up the other day (well, it made a horrible noise, smelled like hot electric wiring, and stopped dead in the water, so to speak) we thought it best to call a repairman before consigning it to the dump.  Nevertheless, I began to do a little research on new washing machines, knowing full well that we were looking at one more unexpected and unwanted expense.

The repairman came yesterday.  The last time he was here, it was for our dryer that was no longer getting anything dry.  He had checked it all out and had finally located a robin’s nest (eggs still in situ) that was completely blocking the vent.  He removed the offending obstacle and we were back in the clothes drying business.

I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be so lucky this time.  However, when he propped up the washer to look underneath, there was a pile of material on the floor, stacked high enough that it had become wound around the drive shaft pulley and had caused the motor to stop.  Once the mess waa disentangled the breaker switch reset we were back in business!

Although there were none of the usual tell-tale signs, we suspect a rat.  Near the washer is an old wicker laundry basket which I don’t really use, but it has become a sort of storage place for bits and pieces of ‘old stuff’ that we find in our periodic forays into the boxes in the back forty.  Over the past few years I’ve tossed all sorts of ‘treasures’ into that basket – old doll clothes, a sunbonnet, baby clothes from the early 1900s, several lace chemises of my grandmother’s, and who knows what else.

There they have stayed waiting for that day I would spend hand-washing and carefully line-drying each item, perhaps starching and ironing, maybe replacing a button or mending a frayed edge.  It has been one of those “Someday…” chores that has always been conveniently pushed further into the future.  Now, alas, most of those delicates are but shredded memories.

It serves me right for procrastinating and I hope I have learned my lesson (again!), at least for long enough to ‘do up’ the few things that were left behind.  The most annoying part of the entire situation is that there was a very clear sign, if only we could have connected the dots in time.  Just a few days ago, both Nyel and I noticed that some things were halfway out of that laundry basket.

“Look at that!” I remarked. “It’s as if someone has been messing around with the things in the laundry basket!  But who would do that?  And who’s been out here besides us, anyway?”

Somehow in these situations, my thoughts never extend to our animal neighbors.  I know full well that winter is the time that some critters like to come in out of the cold.  A back door left open for a few minutes while we are out at the chicken coop, or the garage door left up for the time it takes to move the car around to the front door, and some furry friend has snuck inside.  We’ve had squirrels snuggling up to the warmth of our car engine and mice in the sack of chicken feed.

The good news for us:  the repairman’s visit was far less strain on our budget than a new washing machine.  The bad news for the rat:  Nyel has set several traps in likely places.  And, once again, an interesting adventure on a drizzly winter day…