Changing the Lightbulbs

I was going to change the lightbulbs at 4 pm and then do the evening yard chores at 5 pm before the sun would be down at 6 pm. I laid down for a nap at 2:30 and woke up at 7. It was dark. The dogs were nowhere to be seen. The chickens were still not locked up. I startled awake and pulled on some shoes. The daylight was gone. The lightbulbs! All the lights in the house but one had burned out and i got ready that morning by camping lantern. There was a 50 lb ladder in the shed that was no doubt covered in a thick film of mouse urine and a healthy covering of mouse turds. I would now need to drag that through the yard in the dark. For a moment i considered putting it off but then dismayed at the thought of making breakfast by camping lantern again. I decided it had to be done that night. I put the chicken door on the coop and took the lantern to the shed. I located the ladder. To get to it i had to move a 5 blade reel mower out of the way. It was rusty and wouldnt budge so i had to really pull at it. When i did that the foam handle in my grasp squished and liquid came out of it, coating my hands. It was all field mouse urine. I could smell it from where i stood. I would scrub vigorously later with dawn dish soap and it would still take 4 different scrubbings to get the smell out of my skin. Disgusting. I dragged the ladder through the yard to the house, trying to move the bulk of its weight without touching the ladder against my clothing, as it was indeed covered in mouse urine. The whole thing was sticky and damp. When i reached the front of the house i stood the ladder and tipped it in multiple directions, shaking all the hundreds of mouse turds loose into the yard. Then i brought the ladder inside the house and stood it in an upside down v shape so i could reach the light fixtures to change them. Every time i had to move furniture to get to the next fixture i had to scrub vigorously with soap so i didnt contaminate other things in the house with the rather pungent smell of old mouse urine. When i was finished there was light in the house again. Satisfied that the lightbulbs had been changed i drug the ladder back to the shed and locked it. Then i stripped off all my clothes and put them in the washing machine. Shortly afterwards i grabbed the dawn dish soap and went to town on my skin until the mouse urine could not be detected by human nose. Changing the lightbulbs is a gross job. Its better when you can see what you’re doing but, i overslept during my timed nap.

Finally i retrieved the dogs from the dog run and gave them their supper in the house. They must have been wondering where the heck i was when the sun went down and nobody came to retrieve them.

I guess i finally got one of the little urinaters. I took the traps from my neighbor because everyone has to do their part to curb the population if this is going to work and i wasnt willing to adopt coyote bait mousers that i couldnt afford to deworm and deflea. However, this next part where i have to get him out and reset the trap…that would be the reason i wanted nothing to do with these. The debris on the floor is all from the mice. It was in trash bags in a wheelbarrow waiting for the next trash day because i could only get rid of two bags a week. The mice ripped the bags to shreds and spread it all over the floor. Would you believe i used to be able to see the concrete?