Varmits and Alarms

We concluded a raccoon or a groundhog was the culprit damaging our pepper plants, so I set a trap to attract a raccoon. I caught an itty bitty possum instead. We don’t have horses (the opossum carries a protozoa that can infect horses and kill them), and we don’t have chickens, so I opened the trap and the itty bitty scurried off.

Next, I baited the trap with things I thought might attract a groundhog: carrot, an apple, cabbage leaves, and a piece of cantaloupe. Two mornings in a row I found a turtle at the back end of the trap trying to figure out how to get to the cantaloupe. I took down the trap.

Richard decided to move the pepper plants to the deck, which seems to have solved the problem. It wouldn’t stop a raccoon, but we decided groundhog would not likely climb the steps up to the deck.

We were right. There has been no more damage to the pepper plants.

In the meantime, I am putting out bits of melon for the turtle.

I can’t help myself.

I occasionally have “senior moments” that let me know my brain is beginning to age and that I just don’t have the mental acuity all the time that I used to have. Last week Diane, our pastor, told me she had an appointment on 30 July to see Bob at the nursing home. Bob is a member of the church and July 30 is birthday. She asked if I wanted to meet her at 2:00. I did. It always helps to have 2 people when visiting Bob. The last time I saw him, another man from church went with me and it worked well. So I wrote this plainly on the calendar at my work space: 2:00 p.m. Bob.

So at about 12:45 on Thursday I got dressed and headed over to the nursing home. I told the CNA that I was there to see Bob. I gave her the birthday present I bought to give to him and so she left and got him and wheeled him out. I wondered where Diane was.

About 20 minutes later she came and got him and took him back and I drove home and immediately realized that I had gotten the time wrong. I hadn’t even looked at the calendar.

Turned out to be a banner day for Bob. He got two visits instead of one. Diane sent me the picture she took of him.

In my defense I suppose I could say that I got mixed up because I had just made an appointment to see another resident there for 1:00 next Thursday. But, I still should have looked at the calendar.

Richard suggested that I set alarms to come up on the computer to remind me of stuff. He has suggested this before and I have resisted doing it. But, I did decide to take his advice and now I am thoroughly alarmed.