..OR how living in the countryside is not a bed of roses
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| DRIVEN BATTY: imagine this flying around in your lounge |
EVER since moving to the Scottish Borders and regaling you with tales of countryside life many have told me how they wish they were here living the dream.
Admittedly the isolation, getting closer to Nature and studying animal behaviour has been splendid, at times amusing and very spiritually rewarding but if I've over romanticised things then I do apologise. It is only fair to warn that there is also a dark side to countryside living.
Losing a goose to a badger and then a turkey to a fox was devastating and a brutal reminder that life and death are constant companions here. But there's also the massive spiders lying in wait by the bath plug and if the thought of little furry rodents and creepy crawlies send shivers down your spine then perhaps the countryside is not for you. The dreaded Scottish midgie is also in plague-style proportions at the moment.
Renovating a 200-year-old coach house has been an unsettling time not just for me but for those who share the same space - wether I like it or not - under our roof.
Lat year while watching a creepy episode of CSI my viewing in the dark was interrupted by a daft bat which flew through a hole in the ceiling. At first I thought it was part of the program plot and wasn't quite sure why a bat would fly in and out of camera shot until I realised that the creature was zooming in and out of my vision in the living room.
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BATH TIME: Spiders love hanging around
plug holes and sinks
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The odd mouse has provided a challenge and then with the arrival of the poultry came the dreaded rat. Hubby has put down poison, in a most inventive way to lure the rodents and not the livestock, but the pests were equally innovative and moved from outside buildings into the attic. The building, like many of that period, has natural air conditioning, secret holes, passages and a second skin to circulate the air.
One evening there was so much noise coming from the attic I thought the rodents must be line dancing with clogs on their feet.
In the end I brought in three Geordie moggies, half feral, to try and remedy the situation. The rescue cats came from some stables which were being demolished and a volunteer from the Cats Protection Charity Shop* brought them to the farm when she heard via the RSPCA that I was after some good mousers and ratters and prepared to offer a good home in exchange for their services. |
| MOUSE: Not so cute in the house |
I say this because last night, while again viewing TV in the dark, I heard a large scamper overhead, a flurry of activity and then something drop from the hole in the ceiling. It was a mouse and as I leapt in the air running in the opposite direction I'm not sure who was in the greatest flap. Having recovered my composure I followed the mouse to a dark corner and put down a humane trap containing a half eaten chocolate bar.
Unbelievably it worked as you can see from the picture to my right or, if you prefer, there's a short video clip of the intruder just below. I popped down to the stables this morning to thank the cats but they scattered into dark corners as I opened the door. Feral they might be, but their manners are impeccable ... another dead mouse was left in the open as a gift in exchange for the far tastier meals I'm leaving out for them.
I don't even have photographs of the trio, so elusive are they, but I'm sure in time this will change. Meanwhile they are doing an excellent job and I expect to be clear of rats, mice and other pests in the coming weeks.
* I can't praise the work of the Cats Protection Charity Shop enough and have already made a small donation. Please feel free to do the same, the details are below.
Cats Protection Charity Shop
162-166 HIGH STREET
WALLSEND
NEWCASTLE
NE28 7RP
