Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Peppermint Panic

by admin - 21:20 on 08 June 2011

Great panic filled The Rural Retreat shortly after last night's blog was posted. Matchgirl returned to the interweb to further expand her knowledge of peppermint-based rodent deterrents and discovered, to her horror, that they can be a danger to cats.

Even the scent can damage a feline liver, according to several veterinary sites.

All peppermint-soaked cotton wool was immediately sealed up in plastic bags and put outside; windows were thrown open so fresh (rain-filled) air could clear the Retreat's interior of noxious fumes. Matchgirl spent the rest of the evening with an anxious eye on Bess, fearful that she would expire at any moment.

I'm pleased to report that the unconcerned moggy made it through the night.

There was more excitement. The first pine marten was seen on the gate around 9.30pm, but cloud, rain and general gloom meant there was no chance of snappery. Despite that, we're confident that the visitor was Lumpy – still tiny and cute as a Disney kitten.

When he'd cleared the gate of Nutella I put out more, which was just as well – thirty minutes later a second marten came to dine.

By now it was even gloomier but still light enough for us to identify the marten seen three nights ago. We thought then it was Master Marten; now we're not so sure, for he seemed too small to be a year old. However, there's no denying that the newcomer has Master Marten's erratic whisker.

So, is this son of Master Marten? Or part of another generation produced by one or both of his parents?

Book Update: Waterstone's called a couple of days ago to order fifty more copies of The Bumper Book of Black Isle Snappery, including some for six other branches, among them Glasgow and Edinburgh. All we could give them was ten. The next print run can't come soon enough.

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