Rat attack!

Well, what a day it has been.  Who says Sunday is a day of rest?  Pah!  Not this Sunday.

So I was up and about earlier this morning, which let's face it, wasn't very hard.  I dragged myself up at around 8am and stuck the kettle on.  I had been lying in bed thinking of the lack of water and therefore the lack of laundry being done.  This set my mind to the task of hand washing some clothes.  So off I went to feed Rambo and let him out.  When I opened the door I realised that he had left a fair old chunk of his pellets from yesterday morning, so rather than give him fresh I thought it may teach him a lesson to eat the previous lot and that is what he did.  I fed Sassy and watered her again, noticing that her litter tray needed to be emptied again.

First task, as it was really sunny and with a nice warm breeze, was to take a step back in time and get the bucket out to hand wash some clothes.  This was hard work and I had to keep going back upstairs to refill the hot water after 15 or 20 minutes.  Some of the clothes were filthy following the snow melt and all the mud.  However, I got most of it done except for a white sweater that was filthy and I just couldn't be bothered as my hands were absolutely raw with scrubbing and also the washing powder.

Back to the 1950s

I had brought my coffee and I had a chat with Tommy who looked on in supervision.

Tommy supervises

Finally, it was done.  This is the first washing to be on the line this year and to be fair, it really could do with a proper wash.  It will do fine for now as it is really only clothes worn around the house.

Blowing in the wind

Having noticed Sassy's litter tray needing emptied I decided that I would do the humanure and food waste also.  I had noticed a rat dropping in the main room the night before, so I was beginning to get very conscious of anything that may attract them.  As I went out to prepare everything I needed, I was trying to fill up the watering can with the free water from outside and it started to slow down in flow. It was basically a trickle!  Not what I needed on top of having no mains.  But hey, this is life here. I managed nevertheless to carry on and successfully complete the task in hand.  I did it well (I think) and followed his instruction, all the while screwing my nose up.

So Sassy's tray was included in the process and I settled her back in with a clean tray again.

Clean Sassy

The sun was shining all day and Rambo took full advantage.  I caught him busy guarding the two acres of land very conscientiously.

Topping up the tan

I had sat around a little and had some (more) coffee and Himself asked me if I would check the top bank for flower survival and damage.  On the way, in the middle of the washing line area I saw this. It must have blown out from the out building over winter.  How lovely.

Relic

So, on the top bank this is the state of play:

The Zinnias didn't make it.

Zinnias

Mo's grave is still standing strong and I said hello to the little man, along with Rambo.

Visiting Mo

Then finally, the magnolia.  We both thought this would be done for after the recent weather, but look - buds!

Magnolia buds

On the way back, Rambo went for a paddle.  I have never known a dog so fond of water but yet who will not (apparently) stand still for a bath or shower.  Very strange, but he's a happy boy.

Going for a paddle

Lunchtime loomed and I was starving having not eaten anything since I got up.  I am not a huge breakfast person, but I will get told off if I don't start eating something in the mornings if I am doing manual stuff.  I wanted to go outside afterwards as it was actually warmer out there than it was in here and I refused to light the fire on such a lovely day, so off I went.  Rambo loves company and so we threw his Kong for a while and I thought I would try to tidy up some of the fallen branches that are scattered around the garden.  There were a lot and Rambo found a new stick amongst it all.

I found a stick

This is the accumulation of felled branches.  So sad.

Garden damage

More felled branches

 I had warmed up a fair bit after doing all of that and went upstairs to have a chat with the Mr.  I was waiting for him to reply on something and reading an article when I heard a noise behind me.  Being deaf in one ear, it is generally very difficult for me to hear the direction in which a noise is coming from, but I definitely heard something.  As I swung round in the swivel chair I saw exactly what it was.  A huge, brazen rat sat in the middle of the rug in the room with me.  Now, if I had to hazard a guess at what my reaction would be in this situation, until today I would have said I would scream.  I didn't, I reached for the camera!  Of course, this startled it and it scuttled off underneath the cooker!  Well, I must have held my breath for about 3 whole minutes and grabbed my phone to ask the Mr what to do.  What I thought HE could do from back in the UK I don't know, but by this stage I was on the desk - hahaha.  Typical woman.  I didn't manage to get a photo at this point, but I went outside to where the neighbours were and tried to explain what had happened - they did not understand.  I think they thought I was lonely and missing the Mr as they just kept saying his name.  Distraught, I came back in and sat back on the desk texting Himself and sitting very still waiting.  I knew the little git would come back out, I could hear him moving.  I sat and sat and typed on my phone to Him asking what I should do.  One option which made me feel better and worried all at the same time was to bring Rambo in. This was a good plan if I thought for one second he could catch it and also, without trashing the room in the process.  He is a big old lump.  I was told that I needed to move the cooker.  My response isn't publishable, but you get the picture; as did I.  The little bugger came wandering out from behind the fridge - here he is! (look away now Julie)

Rodent invasion

Are you thinking what I thought?  Yes, the first time it went under and up into the cooker.  Is this a second one?  That was my fear.  So now I think what the heck am I going to do?  Two great big blinking rats in the cooker - wonderful and why have I never seen or heard them until now?!

Having much discussion over texts with the man in the UK, it was clear that I had to get the cooker outside.  Be buggered if I'm sharing my heat with those two!  I once again went to see if I could explain myself to the neighbour's son who I spotted through the window and to no avail.  I was absolutely beside myself by this stage, so I brought Rambo back upstairs with me and went to get the trolley to carry this rats nest of a cooker outside.  Rambo was sniffing madly around the cooker at this point and I was shaking.  With him in front of me on the stairs, I slowly lowered the cooker down two flights of stairs, each step causing a big bang and me to hold my breath expecting a rat to run around my feet at any moment.  I hit the last step, all the while Rambo is sniffing and now growling madly.  I almost sprint out to the porch and onto the grass area of the garden with the cooker on this trolley, at which point the brother comes running up suddenly realising what I wanted him to do and apologising.  He legged it into the garden and just got to us as Rambo stuck his head right under the cooker, grabbed the rat, shook it, dropped it, went for it again and got a proper grip this time.  The rat was down!  The Special One lifted his boot and stomped on it to make sure.  Hurraaaaay! Rat down! I screamed.  I knew I would scream eventually.  Rambo was absolutely amazing.  We often take the Mick out of him for being stupid, but today, when it counted, he earned his keep.  So proud of him. He was actually foaming at the mouth!

So, this is the abandoned cooker - never to be used again, that's for sure.  I will be getting the new one moved over in the next day or two.

Garden cooker

And, if you are scared of rats, turn away now.  The offender.

Your number is up!

After the all of this excitement I thanked the neighbours many times and took myself inside, again with Rambo to see if he could smell anything further.  He didn't seem to be sniffing as violently as he was previously, so I decided that it must have been the same rat on both sightings (or at least I hope so anyway).  I was extremely shaken as I just hate the things and the thought of them having been in here with me all this time was unnerving.  I took myself up to the roof terrace for a well earned beer but came down very soon afterwards as evening was drawing in and the cold wind was getting up.

Much needed beer

And so to now.  I have no gas cooker, so on the provision that the electricity stays on I will be fine, having bought a little mini cooker the other day after discovering that the oven in the main one was broken, no surprise, they ate all the wires in there!  So I have had paella again for dinner, Rambo is laid out on the rug behind me and I feel a little on edge, but less than earlier.

So here he is; the hero of the hour!

Today's hero!

It is early here still, but after the excitement of the day, Rambo and I are just going to sit and enjoy the heat from the fire and maybe read for a while until I am brave enough to take myself into the bedroom, although I am fairly certain that is and has been a rat free zone as they tried to dig under the door and failed and there are no traces in the room at all.

Wish me luck!

A xx