Monday, April 2, 2018

Dog Paws and Nibbly Mice

We're at the time of year when it becomes a battle to keep the floor clean. There's just so much mud out there.

I take my shoes off at the door, to avoid tracking it inside, and when Dave remembers, he does the same.

And yet this is how the floor looked Saturday afternoon. You don't have to be Sherlock Homes to figure out who the canine culprit was.

I got down on my hands and knees and cleaned all the floors. (Yes, we do have a mop, but it's actually easier for me to just sponge the high-traffic areas.) The telltale pawprints are now gone. For the time being.

Then I took Olga to Hampstead Heath where she got extra muddy but had an awful lot of fun. She got bathed when she got home so we avoided further floor messiness.
I couldn't resist running the photo through Waterlogue just to see what would happen. It's a bit too subtle, isn't it?

(I promise I won't do this with every single picture I take.)

So, have I mentioned we're going to Budapest tomorrow? (Provided the courier from Olga's "pet hotel" in Enfield shows up to collect her today, as planned.) I think I wrote about it when we planned the trip several weeks ago, but yeah, the departure date is finally almost here. I know -- it snuck up on me, too!

Yesterday evening we watched three mice cavorting on the peanut-filled bird feeder outside. I've only ever seen one at a time before, so that seems like an ominous sign. The peanut feeder hangs on the wooden fence next to the patio, and they can easily climb up there via the neighbor's shrubbery. Now I'm debating whether we should move the feeder elsewhere in the garden to discourage the mice, or is it OK to allow them to eat there -- in the hope that it will keep them outdoors?

Mrs. Kravitz told me last week that she found mice in her house, and she was quite upset about it. And you probably remember I heard one chewing on our dog-food bag in the foyer. I've moved the food and I plan to get a plastic bin for it, and we've pretty much mouse-proofed everything else, so I haven't seen or heard them again.

We may have a little neighborhood infestation going on.

Where are those foxes when we need them?!

11 comments:

  1. When you return from Budapest, please don't be surprised if your flat is overrun by mice. They will very likely be everywhere, chewing at your pillows and cushions, swimming in the toilet bowl and of course seeking out any food stored in your kitchen cupboards. There'll be hundreds of them. A murine extravaganza.

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  2. Budapest seems like it might be on a different planet. I hope you have the very best time!
    Where ARE your foxes?

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  3. Keep mice out of your house at all costs. They can do a lot of damage and are loaded with disease. They get in and have a litter and then you have some fun...if you like mice.

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  4. it's an exercise in futility to try and keep the floor clean in my studio with the ongoing construction.

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  5. I find it a good excuse for not washing the floors when its wet, we get 5 sets of paw prints on ours, lol
    This is the trouble with feeding the birds, you get unwanted intruders. My daughter has had to temporarily stop feeding as she has spotted rats. Not sure what the answer is.
    Briony
    x

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  6. (singing loudly) Mighty Mouse is on the way, here I come to save the day!

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  7. Do try to see St Stephens, tour the Parliament building, the Mathias church, at least walk around Fishermans' Bastion, and walk by the Gellert Hill Cave. Comfortable walking shoes will be the order of the day! I hope you have fun and that it doesn't rain. The forecast actually looks not bad, except for Thursday.
    And here's hoping that you do not return to find mice swinging from the chandeliers.

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  8. Have a great trip! As always, I'll be looking forward to the photos! I've never been to Budapest.

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  9. Olga needs two pairs of boots! Just kidding :)

    Have a good time away! Mice multiply awfully fast, so here's hoping they don't come in your flat . . .

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  10. Wow, such down and gloom here for a few mice, which I'm sure have been part of London's habitat for centuries. Yeeesh. People got to calm down.

    I love the floor color you got with Waterlogue. This really does look like a fun app and as soon as I can find my apple password I'm buying it.

    What a great trip! It sounds very romantic and foreign, and I do hope it's got great coffee houses and sun sets and good looking people wearing capes to keep you enthralled all the hours of the day and night.

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