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General BS forum I guess anything is fair game in here. Just watch the subject matter doesn't get carried away too much. |
06-10-2007, 01:03 PM
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#1
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Country living.....
Living in the country just doesn't seem to be like it appears on TV and in the movies...... Or maybe it's just here in North Florida that appears to be nature against man. Moving into the woods does appear to have significant drawbacks to your sanity.
Today started off normally. I opened my eyes. Then it started going downhill.
Connie wasn't anywhere to be seen, so I went out to hunt her down. She was clearing away the brush around the Onan automatic generator with a scowl on her face. Uh oh... She said she tried to test the generator (which admittedly we haven't done for quite a while), and although the generator itself started up, the power didn't switch on in the buildings from it. Figuring we were going to have to take a look, she was clearing all the plants from around it that grew up and in since the last time we needed to get near the thing.
Enter Rich Z.....
So, I pulled off the panels around the generator and saw clear evidence that we had some animals who had decided that the generator case made a real dandy place to live. From the appearance of the pile of droppings, probably rats. Now a few years ago, we had a similar problem with our vehicles. The Jeep, Silverado, and Astro van ALL got the wiring chewed up by some rats suddenly appearing and taking up residence in those vehicles. This was pre-Corvette, fortunately..... Cost us several thousand dollars for repairs to get them running again after the chewed up wiring was repaired. Hated to do it, but we put out poison to take care of that problem, which did work. I just hate the stuff because of the collateral damage it can cause, but really couldn't see any alternatives. Live traps? After causing all that damage and expense? Hell no! I wanted those suckers DEAD!
Which reminds me, I had better check under the hood of all the vehicles today....
Not only rats, but evidently field mice as well are in the generator. There is a control box with the power distribution cables going in it with just enough room for a small mouse to squeeze through. I took off the cover, and sure enough, there was a nest in there. So apparently we had families of two different rodents living in there. I saw some wires chewed on in the control box, but nothing looked chewed all the way through that I could see. But even after scraping and blowing all that crap out of the generator, we still had the same symptoms: Generator motor starts up, but doesn't transfer power to the building. I do hope Murphy's Law isn't looking in, because if he is, sure as hell, we will have a power outage today. I still have a manual generator in the work room, and could syphon some gasoline out of one of the vehicles, but that would be a pain in the butt after the money we spent on that automatic generator. So it appears a service call is in order on Monday to get this fixed.
With all the woods we have around us, what in the WORLD are these varmints thinking that they have to get into our vehicles and equipment like a generator? You would think the smell of snakes that we have here would keep the damned things MILES away. Maybe that's the ticket. Instead of selling off surplus adults like I do, just release them and let them chase down the varmints. Fight fire with fire, as such.....
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06-10-2007, 02:09 PM
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#2
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You just need a couple "barn cats" as we call them here in Indiana, Rich. Granted they end up killing things you dont want them to like birds, squirrels, etc, but they tend to keep the rodents in check.
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06-10-2007, 04:04 PM
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#3
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keep telling me all the drawbacks~
I've always wanted to live in the country~ I was hoping this move was gonna be it~ but it doesn't seem to be in the equation again this move.
Meanwhile~ go to the pound and let them know your willing to rescue three or four feral cats (spayed and nuetured of course). You'll feel good about the rescueing of cats that had no prayer of life otherwise~ they'll help solve your rodent problem~ if you make sure they are fixed before you take them home they won't create a whole new problem for you, and if you get mean enough ones~ they won't let any new cats move in on your property either!
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06-11-2007, 12:40 AM
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#4
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The cats would likely help. There's just one "barn cat" on our 40 acre farm, and he keeps the rodents at bay quite well. Just keep in mind that cats like to walk on cars, and will scratch the paint of your vette if it's not garaged or covered.
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06-12-2007, 03:14 PM
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#5
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I have only known of one rat around my house and that was snake food that escaped and kept trying to get back in the house, until the dog got it.
We do have field mice and opossum (had to google the name, selective memory on this vermit). Field mice are very easy to manage with a cat but these opossums seem to rip up my yard going on "honeymoons" and get into everything and they are big! One actually kept coming to my front door and did not leave when the door opened, it became target practice to a friend and is no longer with us.
While I do not have a generator I do have a septic. I have temporarily lost it. I know the general area as the grass is always greener but I know it should be coming time to call someone in to be drained but I will be damned if I remember where to dive for the opening for them
My debate with myself on whether to move or not and where lingers on....
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06-14-2007, 11:14 AM
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#6
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I lived in the woods in Massachusetts for more than a dozen years in three different places. The last six years I lived in a rural community of about 2600 people and our place was 1000 feet off the road, in the woods. We had the same problem and even dogs didn't really help. I bought a brand new Audi A6 the summer we moved into that house and that winter I had mice in the engine. The repairs to the wiring were over $1000 at that time. I guess they liked the heat from the engine. Where they went while I drove the car to work and other places I have no idea. We also found them in various other places in the garage. Finally I also used poison, feeling I had no choice.
Worse than that was that a couple of bats got into my attic and set up houskeeping there. A couple must have turned into a couple dozen before we noticed. Bats are protected and cannot be simply exterminated. I had to put in a system where they could get out but not back in and reseal all of the vents. That was also over $1000.
And then there was living without water when electricity went out because the well pump didn't work...
And the 25 minute drive each way to a supermarket...
And the fact that if my house caught fire all they would (could) save was the cellar hole because there were no hydrants...
And the deer coming by to forage in the winter, destroying some of my evergreen plantings...
Despite all of this I loved it while I was there, and there are parts of it I miss. But being a mile or two from a supermarket, several shopping centers, the gym, a post office, a hospital, and a fire station does have its advantages too.
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06-14-2007, 11:28 AM
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#7
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Living in the country has its perks too!!! its not all bad guys!
ive lived in the Boondocks all of my life, so moving to a place like sheffield MA was pretty interesting, since we actually had a town center. Any supermarkets that had REAL food and not microwaveable stuff are about 15 minutes each way.
Were right on the main road. Since ive moved back home, i can defnitely appreciate living in the country part, and not the town of Great Barrington. ( crazy place to drive)
At least there are rivers and lakes here that i can go fishing/swiming in, and theres a rock quarry not too far down the road in canaan too. So Swimming there is always fun!
but maybe im just the kinda girl that appreciates this sort of stuff. The city has its benefits, but man, id probably go crazy if i couldn't go out on a hike, or hunt for critters....
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06-14-2007, 02:58 PM
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#8
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Oh I definitely like the country, just thinking about moving a tad bit closer to a shopping town. Mine is 1/2 hour each way to get groceries.
This summer I am having the family reunion here and finding that kids would rather camp out then stay indoors or hotels so my back yard is going to become a mini camp site!
Lakes abound and I have a pool and love to blast music so all the noise I make I do not have to hear complaints from neighbors. My house is just far enough from the road that the older girls are forever walking around in their underwear and no one could tell would just think it is a bathing suit, lol. Very relaxed atmosphere here. Cook outs, volleyball, horseshoes, its all good fun. Besides even the down sides you look back and laugh at.
Now back to finding where the hell that septic spout is....
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06-22-2007, 06:43 PM
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#9
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Oh boy, I probably found this thread at either the perfect time or the worse time.
As many of you know, I moved from Southern California (the OC) to be exact, to rural Georgia.
Since my move here I have dealt with a well pump going out, frozen pipes, bug's OMG the bugs here I could put a saddle on, they love to eat me too, I think it's a Cali girl bug conspiracy, 30 minutes each way to the grocery store, and some of the most colorful people that I have ever encountered.
Shopping? What's that? There's the dollar store, and if I really wanna go crazy, there's WallMart woo hoo big doins here!!!!
On the plus side, the air is clean, I am surrounded by every kind of tree imaginable, thunder storms, frogs the start singing when the rain starts, and the smell of the fresh earth and plants life in the morning. I live for that scent. I have a person that loves me beyond reason sometimes, and he over looks it because of who he is and who I am.
I do want to comment on your story Rich. Bryon's explorer makes this gawd awful noise when he turns on the ac or the heater....well come to find out, the local squirrels thought it was the perfect place to store hickory nuts. They were on the engine block, in the fan's, some of the fuse box's, he was finding nuts for days and some some still stuck under the dash.
There are moments that I ask myself "what were you thinking moving out here" and to be honest, because I can. I made a promise to myself that if things got rough that I would stick it out. So the squirrels can just take a hike, I am armed with bug spray.....and the rest of the south can just get over it. I am here to stay!!!
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06-27-2007, 01:19 AM
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#10
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I guess it is just like anything else. There are good points and bad points with just about everything.
Yeah, the rodents can be a pain in the butt, but those days I see a gopher tortoise grazing in the yard, or skinks playing games on the porch, it makes the bad parts not seem quite so bad. I don't think looking outside the window and seeing nothing but asphalt and concrete would be all that much fun...
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