Happy Independence Day to America!! While it’s 5am July 5th (Sat) as I type, it’s a bit after 11am on the 4th in Idaho. I imagine most everyone in the states is getting ready for a nice day of family/friends BBQ/get togethers to celebrate summer and the freedom to still speak ill of the government. Anyone in Juneau, AK should still be sleeping/recovering – if they stayed up to watch the midnight fireworks. Juneau is proud to be the first (or at least one of the first) to celebrate the 4th of July. I wonder if it was raining?
For me, today is the day I get the heck out of here. I had planned to stay several more days, into next week or longer. However, after returning from the outhouse at 3:30 and trying to get back to sleep, I heard the rustle of a mouse/mice. Okay, no big deal. I knew they were here, I even knew there was one in my mattress a few days ago. But since I was getting up when I heard it that morning, I didn’t let it get to me. However, at 4 am everything feels more ominous than it really is: rustling is louder, scratching seems closer, shadows seem to move. So I hit my mattress a couple of times, trying to get them to move on. They sounded next to the wall, next to my head! Were they going to run over me soon? I sat up, turned on my head lamp, hit the mattress. Okay, so I knew they were in there; but I was NOT prepared to actually see the mattress hit back! Seriously!!! The freaking mattress moved! Right under my pillow! It took me a good full minute to process this fact, and then I was off that bed and there was no way I was getting back on!!
Okay, so maybe it is somewhat my fault. I knew we had mice. I purposely didn’t set traps. I figured hearing the occasional skitter under my bed was better than hearing a loud "snap" in the middle of the night and knowing that I’d killed something (no, I am not a hunter). Yes, I know mice are filthy and the best way to deal with them is traps etc. But they are also cute and it’s not their fault that my cabin is cozier than the wet outdoors. Although, to be honest I can’t actually say that they are mice and not rats! Rats are way uckier and less cute, and probably wouldn’t even flinch at a mouse trap – let alone die quietly. So, I may to blame for the continued presence here, but I’m not going to stay around and deal with the problem. In fact, I’ve already told Marty that I’m leaving. I would have waited until well after dawn to tell him, but I figured since I was up and had time to kill (there was no way I was getting back to sleep after that – even in the now empty spare bed Shin left behind yesterday) I decided to go up to the shop and check my e-mail. After starting the computer I got a glass of water. Imagine my surprise when I heard the beeping of an ALARM!! What the??? I thought this store was run on honesty! I had no idea there was an alarm! So, I had no idea what to do, not even a clue what the code might be. Pretty soon the beeping stopped. I heard a distant whine. I went around the shop and towards the main house. The whine got louder. Pretty soon I was at the sliding glass front door, right next to the source of the whine. I waited, and knocked a bit, and waited. Nobody was stirring inside. Then the whine quit. Great, what was next? Sirens? A phone call? I stood outside watching the stars for a bit to see what would happen. It was a beautifully clear night, I saw a couple of falling stars. If only it had been raining, I probably wouldn’t have ventured out of the cabin. So, when nobody came out and no sirens sounded – though a dog was barking somewhere far away – I decided I should at least turn the computer off. No point wasting electricity. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t set the alarm off again – but it apparently didn’t disturb anybody the first time. So, when no beeping started when I went in again, I decided to go ahead and check my e-mail and relate the rodent episode to my parents.
I hadn’t been typing for more than 5 minutes when I heard a voice. It was Marty. No, he hadn’t heard the alarm, but he had seen the glow of the computer screen. I told him about the alarm and he turned it off, giving me the code to turn it back on when I was through with the computer. He said goodnight and I went back to the computer. Then I heard him come back. He asked that I stay on at the farm until Wed. It was going to be his wife’s birthday and he wanted to give her a break for a day. He asked if that would be okay or if I had other plans (just today, while moving cows, I had told him I’d feel bad about leaving him without any workers if I left next week after Thomas left. He said that he appreciated the thought, but it wasn’t my problem and not to worry about it). So, this morning I told him I had planned on leaving today. I told him about the mattress moving mice and how at 4 am that I just wasn’t able to deal with it. He understood and apologized about it. I told him I understood wanting him to get Becky away and that maybe in the light of day I could deal with it, but again he told me "it’s not your problem". And he’s right. It’s not my problem. I’m tired of the ants in the kitchen. I’m tired of my saggy bed. I’m really tired of gum boots (rubber boots) that pinch my toes (oh man, I dream of insulated Xtra Tuffs – a SE Alaska utilitarian foot fashion). I’m ready to move on. I realize that there are many people in this world, and in the US, that live in conditions similar or worse than where I’m at now. I’m sure many people don’t even have food in the cupboards to attract ants, not to mention the homeless that don’t have a bed to worry about what’s inside. There’s a part of me that wants to be very zen about all this, take it as it comes and accept it. However, I’m still a bit to western for accepting rodents into my life, at least ones that aren’t in cages and running around in little plastic balls ;)
I don’t have a place lined up to stay, but I don’t really care. I actually want that feeling of adventure and not knowing what’s next. I may try calling a couple of WWOOF places on the west coast of the Northland (I’m on the east coast right now), but more likely I’ll just spend a couple of days checking out the beaches and Kauri forests; spending the nights in a hostel or in my car (it may be cold, but I’m fairly certain there are no rodents – though I have found ants before). After a month of saving money WWOOFing I will feel fine hostelling for a bit. After exploring the area I’ll head south to a large town called Whangarai. I should be able to surf a couch there for a night or two. I’ll try to set up a dive off the Poor Knights Islands (a marine reserve that is supposed to be fantastic diving (though nowhere near the quality it was 50 years ago, according to older divers)). After that I’ll probably chill out in Auckland for a bit. Maybe catch the Romeo and Juliet ballet, maybe catch some of the international film festival. Maybe couch surf, but more likely stay at the hostel where Bobbie is. I’d like to hang out with a friend again.
HA HA HA, I just remembered leaving the shop this morning. I checked to make sure I hadn’t left anything out in the back. I had my head lamp on and as I went past the stock shelves, I heard large rustling and scurrying. Ugh, willies. The farm has a super friendly manx (bobtail) cat (I’ve had some love sessions with it a couple of times). When I walked to the back to set the alarm she made a meow/stretch sound/move under the table as I turned the corner. Scared the bejeesus out of me! I think I thought she was an overgrown rat!!! Oh man, makes me laugh thinking about it. I gave her a pet and asked why she wasn’t catching the rats in this place. My cat would be ALL over them (and the native birds too – particularly those flightless, nocturnal kiwi birds!).
So, to all my fellow Americans – HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!! I hope the weather is good, I hope the beer is cold, and I hope the laughs are loud and plentiful.
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