Great Gopher Hunt

Not too much going on around here this week.

Emilie recovered from her cold just in time to be hit with some tummy/digestive woes. Fortunately, a little Miralax (emphasis on the little…as a little goes a long way in the world of Miralax) and she’s seems to be back on track. Thanks Aunt Carrie for the tip!

My cold bug is gone except for some nagging soreness on the left side of my throat which makes my ear feel clogged and itchy all at the same time. It’s getting better but it really is obnoxious, especially first thing in the morning.

We started our second round of swimming lessons Monday. This time there is a little boy about Emilie’s size in their class. He’s a bit more timid than my two and I feel a little bad at times that he has to deal with Thing 1 and Thing 2 and their water-based shenanigans. He finally worked up the courage to put his face in the water last class. Jack was so happy for him that he shouted, “Yea Jace!! You did it!” (pretty sure his name is actually Jason) and gave him a huge bear hug just like he does with Sister. Poor little guy almost came unglued. He did not know what to make of Jack’s exuberance.

Probably the most interesting and entertaining thing going on of late is Kevin’s continuing war with the gophers in the front yard. With the mild winter we’ve had the gophers have gotten an early start. One too many new mounds popped up next to the Walnut tree and Kevin went on the attack. So far he’s tried Gopher Gassers (looks like a small stick of dynamite and releases toxic fumes down the tunnels) as well as regular smoke bombs from the 4th of July stash,  basic run of the mill traps, and flooding the tunnels with water from the hose. His attempts have slowed progress for sure but he still hasn’t won the war. Just when enough days have passed without any signs of activity that you think you’ve finally got them a new little mound appears.

Kevin hasn’t gotten too crazy in his techniques…yet. I still remember one weekend morning in middle school watching my Dad tip-toe across our front lawn like Elmer Fudd wearing sweatpants, flip-flops, and holding the shotgun. That poor Mole he was after didn’t stand a chance. There was nothing left of him but a crater in the dirt. Suppose it served the little guy right for having the nerve to actively dig his hole in front of Dad. No, I can say Kevin for sure has not gotten to that point. All guns are still safely stowed. Plus none of the Gophers has yet had the balls to dig a tunnel in front of him. However, I can see Kevin beginning to debate the merits of adding a 120volt live wire to his tunnel flooding technique next time. That’s how the neighbor down the road gets the Gophers out of his lawn (Welcome to Idaho folks) and it seems somewhat effective. Tempting, so temping.

Until then, the battle wages on. Oh, and if you drop by some day and wonder about the stuffed Gophers mounted above the fireplace, you’ll know why.