I hate these meeces to pieces!

Step 1: Discover cute brown mouse eating birdseed in closet.

Step 2: Set humane trap to release cute brown mouse to the wild after catching it.

Step 3: Wait for humane trap to work...

Step 4: Discover formerly cute, now disgusting brown mouse in kitchen near food.

THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND.

Step 5: Invest in traditional, break-his-neck traps.

Step 6: KILL.

Heat

Well, I did it. I hate to admit it, but I had to. What choice did I have? Sure, it's only October, and I'm against it in principle, but I had to. It was 58ºF in my apartment this morning. So I turned the heat up to a modest 62º. I am defeated.

On an unrelated note, Stumpy is no longer with us. Goodnight, sweet prince.

Kristin Rescues Baby Animals

I thought hermit crabs were plenty of pets for the time being. They do cute things like play in the water dish and make noises in the night.

Aww...

But then at work one day, a tiny lizard showed up on some tropical plants. He jumped around a lot, so the guys named him Jumpy. Then his tail broke off, and he was called Stumpy.

Stumpy!

I thought he was cute, thus I became Stumpy's new guardian. I didn't know what to do with him, so I put him in a lemonade pitcher and emailed the Columbus Zoo.

Hey, it beats a coffee can!

Don Winstel at the Columbus Zoo was very helpful. He identified Stumpy as a brown anole hatchling and gave me suggestions for care and feeding. Stumpy now has some fruit flies to eat and some moss to play in. I'm going to have to get him a nicer terrarium, though, and probably a real heat lamp (although I'm sure he loves the heat from my desk lamp).

Stumpy and fruit flies!

There you have it: the story of Stumpy.

Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets have begun another season of NHL defeat, which means that my radio station of choice will once again sqander their precious air time covering hockey games instead of playing good music. Man. The hockey strike was the best thing to happen to Columbus radio. Too bad it's over.

Oil-Based Paints

Should you happen to have latex paint all over your hands, and should said latex paint remain on your hands despite scrubbing with water, dish soap, steel wool, and acetone (in that order), and should you happen to notice that said latex paint says on its label to clean it with mineral spirits, and should it be midnight and you have no idea what mineral spirits are, let alone where to buy them at that hour, then you might perhaps notice that said latex paint is oil-based and therefore easily removable with a little vegetable oil from the kitchen.

Me and my crazy projects...

The Old Zoo

The Old Zoo is my favorite (or maybe 2nd favorite) of the gardens we've visited so far. (Actually, it was the first garden we visited.) Not only does it look like a rainforest...


But it has some really neat art. My favorite artist featured in the garden is Sophie Dickens, the great-great-...-great-grand-something of Charles Dickens. She did this one of a greyhound chasing bunnies:


These wood nymphs (also Dickens's work) hang provocatively around the trees:


And below, a fabulous illustration of penis envy:

England!

My group stopped for lunch one day at the Inn at Whitewell, set in the middle of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the rough equivalent of an American national park. The Queen actually owns the land, and she recently dined at the Inn. A trail runs around the landscape, approximately 5 miles. "You can't get lost," our guide said, so Peter and I set off on the hike, crossing the river on stepping stones.


We hiked through a pasture of sheep, up an incredibly steep hill, and through someone's backyard, all the while following "footpath" signs. We crossed through a gate, scrambled up a muddy stone path, and found ourselves... in the middle of a cow pasture?


The "footpath" signs had disappeared. Peter and I hiked all across that pasture, and even taunted some cows, before giving up and turning back. "You can't get lost," my arse.

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Well, the bags are packed, the house plants are at my parents' house, everything is in order. I'm really looking forward to nursing this hangover on my 9 hour plane ride...