It's winter (we even had flurries and enough to turn the ground white - I'm at a higher elevation than most) and it seems like we have a star nosed mole in the house.
It scurries out of hiding and steals a single piece of dog food. It then yells at you and scurries away.
Most of you will have never seen a star nosed mole. They're awesome and really cute little buggers!
The missus says she's seen one that's a little larger, so we may have a pair of them. The dog doesn't seem to mind them.
I don't want to kill them. I could live trap them and put them outside but they'll likely move along in the spring to give birth. They're perfectly harmless. They don't carry any diseases, ticks, fleas, or anything like that. They will leave poop pellets somewhere, presumably in the basement which is where they're hiding/living.
I think I'm going to let them spend the winter inside. They'll even eat some bugs.
They're also absolutely fascinating. They can't see worth a fart but those funny looking things on their faces (their noses) are evolutionary marvels. They're like the fastest eating animals on the planet, I guess. Those weird nose things, their probiscus I guess, are insane. They operate at speeds close to the speeds of a neuron firing off.
They can even smell while underwater!
The first time I met one was when I was freshly retired and walking across the lawn. One of them ran into my foot, sat there, wiggled his nose at me, and then yelled at me for being in his way.
I was pretty sure that I'd just met an alien or that I'd discovered a new species. (Intoxication would have been a factor.) I rushed over to the farm and told them about my alien encounter only to learn that it was a star nosed mole. They have a limited region of habitability but they're not endangered or anything.
en.wikipedia.org
Read that article to learn more.
I don't think I'll kick them out until spring arrives. For now, they're (or it, as it may just be one 'cause the missus is not a mole specialist - nor am I) living their best life. They've got food, water, shelter, and it's darned cold outside. Though, they deal well with the cold. They're good at regulating their body temperature - even swimming in near-freezing water.
Still, this is pretty much like a hotel for them - except instead of a continental breakfast they can gather unlimited dog food which seems to appeal to them.
I suspect they're not eating all of it. They're just amazed at the abundance of food and are storing it for future consumption. Why do I think that? Well, they've been making regular visits to steal the dog food. They are doing so at the rate of one piece every ten or fifteen minutes.
They don't eat the food where we can see them. They steal it and run away with it. (I live in something called an envelope house, at least partially.) About ten to fifteen minutes later, they come back to steal another piece.
If they sense you, and I've been within a foot of their path, they squeak at you - as though they're yelling at you for interrupting their dog food heists. They do not drop the food.
As far as manners go, it's quite rude for a guest to yell at you for more food. I'd not take that nonsense from a human, so hopefully they acclimate and realize that the dog's dish isn't going to suddenly not have food in it.
I might save them a trip and put some food in the basement. That's where I assume they're living. They shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll likely find that and where they're pooping so that I can at least clean up after them.
I'm pretty sure they'll move on in the spring. If they get too annoying, we can use live traps and just move them outside. The house is quite buttoned up now, as that season is upon us. If it was a mouse, I'd be willing to use lethal means to get rid of them. But, this is just a mole (or two). As long as they behave themselves, they can stay around until it's warm again. I can't blame them for wanting to be inside and eating all the food they want.
It scurries out of hiding and steals a single piece of dog food. It then yells at you and scurries away.
Most of you will have never seen a star nosed mole. They're awesome and really cute little buggers!
The missus says she's seen one that's a little larger, so we may have a pair of them. The dog doesn't seem to mind them.
I don't want to kill them. I could live trap them and put them outside but they'll likely move along in the spring to give birth. They're perfectly harmless. They don't carry any diseases, ticks, fleas, or anything like that. They will leave poop pellets somewhere, presumably in the basement which is where they're hiding/living.
I think I'm going to let them spend the winter inside. They'll even eat some bugs.
They're also absolutely fascinating. They can't see worth a fart but those funny looking things on their faces (their noses) are evolutionary marvels. They're like the fastest eating animals on the planet, I guess. Those weird nose things, their probiscus I guess, are insane. They operate at speeds close to the speeds of a neuron firing off.
They can even smell while underwater!
The first time I met one was when I was freshly retired and walking across the lawn. One of them ran into my foot, sat there, wiggled his nose at me, and then yelled at me for being in his way.
I was pretty sure that I'd just met an alien or that I'd discovered a new species. (Intoxication would have been a factor.) I rushed over to the farm and told them about my alien encounter only to learn that it was a star nosed mole. They have a limited region of habitability but they're not endangered or anything.
Star-nosed mole - Wikipedia
Read that article to learn more.
I don't think I'll kick them out until spring arrives. For now, they're (or it, as it may just be one 'cause the missus is not a mole specialist - nor am I) living their best life. They've got food, water, shelter, and it's darned cold outside. Though, they deal well with the cold. They're good at regulating their body temperature - even swimming in near-freezing water.
Still, this is pretty much like a hotel for them - except instead of a continental breakfast they can gather unlimited dog food which seems to appeal to them.
I suspect they're not eating all of it. They're just amazed at the abundance of food and are storing it for future consumption. Why do I think that? Well, they've been making regular visits to steal the dog food. They are doing so at the rate of one piece every ten or fifteen minutes.
They don't eat the food where we can see them. They steal it and run away with it. (I live in something called an envelope house, at least partially.) About ten to fifteen minutes later, they come back to steal another piece.
If they sense you, and I've been within a foot of their path, they squeak at you - as though they're yelling at you for interrupting their dog food heists. They do not drop the food.
As far as manners go, it's quite rude for a guest to yell at you for more food. I'd not take that nonsense from a human, so hopefully they acclimate and realize that the dog's dish isn't going to suddenly not have food in it.
I might save them a trip and put some food in the basement. That's where I assume they're living. They shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll likely find that and where they're pooping so that I can at least clean up after them.
I'm pretty sure they'll move on in the spring. If they get too annoying, we can use live traps and just move them outside. The house is quite buttoned up now, as that season is upon us. If it was a mouse, I'd be willing to use lethal means to get rid of them. But, this is just a mole (or two). As long as they behave themselves, they can stay around until it's warm again. I can't blame them for wanting to be inside and eating all the food they want.
- WTH 
Honeymooned there almost 50 years ago. Wanted to stay but ended up in Mc Call, ID.
On top of that, isn't Wilma a code name for Linux Mint 22?
