Tag: strategy

October 5, 2023 – It’s War!

October 5, 2023 /

We have become soft, most of us anyway. We live in a mostly sterile and sanitized world away from things that we perceive as icky. It wasn’t that long ago that we more or less coexisted with other creatures. In those times, it was more of a cat and mouse game, I will get you if you are in my space uninvited. After all, why do you think there was Tom and Jerry cartoons in the first place?

This goes part and parcel with the ever increasing urbanism. The farther we get from the edges of the wild, the less tolerance we have with interaction of the wild (at least on our terms). I don’t like having vermin in my house anymore than anybody else, but it happens. It is my turn again.

I was helping my dad the other day and we were wandering around his orchard picking apples and other things out of the garden as my ‘payment’. He showed me the holes around one tree and we discussed the particular type of vermin it might be. Was it a mole, a vole, a gopher? It’s hard to say without actually seeing it. More importantly, it better not impact the tree, that would be a death sentence.

This wasn’t the only thing we looked at. We saw where the mice? rat? chewed on the power line feeding the shoreline power to his camper. Then we went into the pole barn and saw droppings on top of the boat cover and speculated whether they were from bats or mice. My point with this was that these things are all around us.

I am an advocate for keeping a good, hunting cat. They will police the basic perimeter and do the day to day work of keeping vermin numbers lower. But, there becomes a certain size that they just cannot handle. Anything bigger than a small rat is too large for a cat. I have had my share of rats, squirrels, racoons etc that I have had to deal with over the years.

I can’t say what my exact problem is right now. I have not seen any droppings only some signs that an animal has gotten into some stuff. It almost makes me wonder if it is coming and going. Nevertheless, I don’t want it in and around my pantry goods. I didn’t start the fight, but it is on now.

I have been successful with both traps and bait. The last thing that I dealt with, I never saw. It helped itself to cereal, so I just mixed some cereal into the bait and that was the last time anything got into the cereal. I had an aggressive rat a few years ago. It was eating onions, peppers and dry goods every day. I used rat traps on that one. But, it was big enough that the trap didn’t actually kill the rat. I had to manually dispatch that one.

I have caught mice with sticky traps as well. The problem with those is humanely ending the problem. The solution that I find is quick is two bricks and a total crush. It is over in a split second for the unlucky mouse.

We had a bit of a mouse problem when we first moved in. Because I was renting a unit, I went ahead and paid an exterminator. He said that mice can get in within the space of fingernail. Rats can get in a hole the size of a quarter. Don’t forget that they also come in when the door is left unattended. The point being is keeping them out in the first place.

For bigger pests, the pellet rifle is a good friend. That of course means that you have to see them. The good news is that when they take up residence in your home, they are often around more frequently. I want to point out that many of these critters fall into the game regulations so do what you will with my recommendations. Also be aware that discharge of air powered weapons are likely not legal within city jurisdictions as well. As always, be mindful of the backdrop and your capabilities before doing anything.

End Your Programming Routine: My home is for invited guests only. I don’t say this with pride but I have had to kick out people that were a threat to my enjoyment of my property. That goes the same with animals that I didn’t invite in. It will end for that unfortunate animal at some point, I just have to be patient.

December 13, 2022 – Better Late Than Never

December 13, 2022 /

I know Thanksgiving is over by a long way but Christmas is coming up and this strategy works no matter whether it is a holiday or not. I am talking about repurposing leftovers.

I find it particularly troublesome when there is leftover stuffing/dressing but the turkey is all gone. So, we need a way to get everything over with at the same time. Here is what I did.

Day Zero: After boning out all of the carcass, it went back into the stock pot. This was really just a waste elimination maneuver. I made turkey stock that a portion became Tortilla soup. But ultimately, it can be used interchangeably with chicken stock throughout the year so the balance went into the freezer.

Day One: It was Thanksgiving dinner again for lunch, we had the Tortilla Soup for dinner.

Day Two: Leftover rolls, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, etc were turned into Thanksgiving sliders. This was a big day for college football so the sliders accompanied a litany of dips and other appetizers. A key note as well, this wasn’t just a reassembly of Thanksgiving but other flavors were added like mustard mixed into the cranberry sauce and a glaze over the whole thing. I chose not to add cheese but something like Havarti would have been appropriate as well.

Day Four: Cleaning up the rest of things, we were out of Turkey so I made a casserole. I bought a rotisserie chicken at the store, used some frozen green beans and mixed some mushroom soup with the beans and chicken. The whole thing was topped with the remaining stuffing and we were done with leftovers.

For Christmas, we are planning a prime rib. Meat is the easiest thing to reuse because as long as it isn’t overly sauced or seasoned, it can simply be thrown into casserole or sandwich or tacos etc. Who knows how much if any leftover we will have, I will try to be more timely if I have as large of a stack as I did with Thanksgiving.

If you are really stuck on things, I find that you can do an internet search like ‘what to do with…’ or ‘recipe ideas using…’ often times use some sort of stimulating results. You may not want to make the suggestions but from the search you can start getting ideas about where you may want to go instead.

End Your Programming Routine: I heard on the radio that Thanksgiving officially expired on Monday after the holiday. I find this to be bunk to be honest. How old is that turkey really? Use your eyes, nose and common sense here but re-cooking things also extend the shelf life. Of course, you could also just pre-portion meals and freeze for later just like you own hungry man.