RATTY

I live in the Rainforest as you know, in a small township of about 100 houses, which are predominantly weatherboard homes with corrugated iron roofs surrounded by rainforest, trees, waterfalls etc, and abundant wildlife, quite serene really.
Well, I went into the kitchen to make supper one night, it was dark, and I have to walk across the kitchen to get to the light switch, picked up the milk from the fridge, clicked on the light, and reached up above the stove to get some bread to make toast, and thought the ladle fell out of the utensils jar at the side of the breadbin above the stove. 

Then the ladle jumped over the teapot, ran across the bowl of broad beans that I hadn’t finished shelling, and disappeared down the side of the cooker! I did a sort of riverdance movement, while yelling and throwing the bread in the air, and dropping the milk (as you would) when I calmed down, no sign of the furry little critter....and I told hubby it was either a really big mouse, or a little rat.....then came the next three days, when I had a friend remove the cooker to check behind it, ascertained that nothing had been in any of the cupboards....phew!...cleaned said cupboards to within an inch of absolute 100% hygiene hospital grade standard....packed all foodstuffs into the new containers which I bought, (tupperware could take a photo of my pantry and die with shame it looks so good now). Then we discovered that there was a problem within the old chimney, it had had a wood heater in, and been boarded up when old heater was removed, leaving a gaping hole down into the ground under the house.....another trip into New Norfolk for concrete, which was duly laid with broken glass in it for added deterrent value....baits laid, mousetraps bought, nerves totally shattered....I can hear noises, seemed to be in my thoughts often, I am a sook of the biggest proportion.....

Well I was just settling down, having found one dead rat in the back garden over a week ago, and thinking we got ya.....when I went up to feed the chooks this morning, straight out of bed, fed the cat, put the jug on got dressed, and up to the chookrun I went, I am busily throwing in wheat, and foodscraps, when I looked down, and there was what looked like a little dormouse, casually eating a carrot top, and I thought OH! how sweet, then penny dropped, dormouse....try a ..... RAT! AARRGGHH!!! 

I casually closed the chook pen door, went down to wood shed, and thought what the hell will I get, the blockbuster and axe both require a reasonable aim, and could be messy, so I grabbed the shovel, raced back up to the chookpen, and there it is, still eating that carrot top....so I hit it, and it ran, out through the netting, in the same direction as I had run, so I hit it again....then, what to do with the evidence....the dog was in the garden and I didn’t want it to get it, so I had to bag it up and put it in the bin, I was a bundle of nerves by this time. 

I went up to the shop, got the daily paper, picked up my mail, and came home and had a Stones Mac for breakfast instead of my usual coffee, coffee, I had so much adrenalin running around my system, I didn’t need coffee....
 

But on the bright side, I kept the economy afloat by spending all spare money at local chickenfeed shop ($2 style shop for non Tasmanians) for plastic storage containers for pantry. Kitchen is so clean you can eat of the floor, we now have a cat, (which otherwise may have been homeless) and I know my hand eye coordination is spot on......
 

did I say it was quiet and serene here, yep, I think I did.........