Every September, I call the propane company to schedule an appointment
to have my tank topped off. I don't use much propane – only the hot water heater
and generator use it. Everything else runs on electricity. Anyway, the scheduler
always wants to know how much gas is in the tank, so I have to open the lid
and read the gauge before I call her. No big deal.
I've done this so many times that I know what to expect...
...a nest...
...and a rodent or four.
Then comes the moral dilemma.
Do I remove the nest and its occupants or leave it to scare the propane man?
Maybe mama rodent and the kids will leave on their own
by the time he gets here, maybe they won't.
I think I'll hide in the garage on propane day
with the GoPro ready just in case.
Introduce them to Johnny and the chickens.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a motion activated field camera like I use to catch sight of whichever predator is scaring my ducks. You could get video of him completely unaware...
ReplyDeleteAll I have ever found in mine is a wasp nest. I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the propane guy has seen it all.
ReplyDeleteIf the Propane Filler Guy is afraid of a Momma Mouse and her babies, maybe he should find a new job!! LOL
ReplyDeletePlease, DO NOT set Johnny or the chickens onto that little furry family!! Marcia in CO
DO IT!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time our Kubota tractor wouldn't start. We lifted the engine hood to find two pack rats staring back at us, the engine compartment completely stuffed with nesting material and hundreds of oak acorns. What to do? We had two "gopher getters", long tubes that take four D batteries and vibrate when pushed into the ground to drive gophers away from your lawn or garden. They didn't work on the gophers but we thought the vibration might drive the pack rats out of the tractor engine. We nestled those two vibrating tubes on each side of the engine and closed the lid. Next morning we opened the engine compartment to find the pack rats snuggled next to the vibrating tubes looking very happy.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny!
Deleteglad I am not your propane guy... between Jake and our trap we have sent 14 rats, not mice to the big rat hole in the sky.
ReplyDeleteAn unexpected surprise makes the job more amusing! For both of you....
ReplyDeleteMy propane man has to deal with snakes and wasps. Our tank is buried per neighborhood restrictions.
ReplyDeleteCute little guys! Maybe they could share digs with your curve-billed thrashers!
ReplyDeleteNot really a good place for a rodent nest. Might start gnawing on something important.
ReplyDeleteI'd let the propane guy deal with it. They are cute tho, but I also wonder what they are eating. I had a rabbit in the seventies that chewed up my prized stereo system and speaker wires. If I would have cooked back then... ( kind of like now) I was so mad I'd have had rabbit soup!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if propane mouse family is related to the barbecue grill mouse family. And the hay-bales-outside-the garage-door mouse family. Propane Guy is in for a big surprise if propane mice move as fast as grill and hay bale mice. lol
ReplyDeleteI usually have wasps in my lid. And the propane guy knows that and comes prepared :-o.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I opened my propane tank to check the level, I also found a mama. A mama black widow spider and her many, many, teeny tiny offspring. So many spiders. Anyway, I bug sprayed the heck out of that tank. One thing tho, I never realized how big black widows were, she was really recognizable.
ReplyDeleteLaurieB
Another reason why I could never live alone out in the wilderness!!
ReplyDelete