Thieves, Rodents, Snakes

The campground here seems under siege by vandals, thieves, rodents and pesky snakes. I found tooth marks on my tiny silicone measuring bowl in the drawer. Probably a mouse taste testing it at some point.

Silicone measuring cup with tiny teeth marks that are not my dog's. 

Besides, the dog doesn't measure things when he cooks, so I know he didn't do it. 

I have 4 of these silicone cups in quarter, third, half and full cup sizes.

I was so disgusted at finding this I spent a good  fifteen minutes sterilizing and washing all the measuring cups. 

We had a cold snap and those little guys can sneak inside through a sliver. I do keep poison in weird places where the dog can't get it, but the mice can. One winter I found a flat dead mouse in my motorhome. He had ripped open the poison which killed him. He was near the hot water heater in an obscure compartment. I never smelled a thing the poison flattened him so fast. He barely got to taste the poison but he made a mess of it ripping it open. I swept up the spilled poison putting it all in a ziplock type baggy for the next rodent to rip open and die. I hate killing things, but the mice and rats need to live anywhere but my place.

Last evening I was riding my bicycle around the campground, with all my lights on since it was dusky. I wanted cars to see me in spite of the 5 mph speed limit, which is pretty often ignored. Thankfully there are not speed bumps in the camp. Speed bumps are a mess too for bicyclists as they are designed to slow cars. If an unwary bicyclist hits one, it can be bad news indeed.

Occasionally I have stayed in parks with speed bumps that left a small section open for bikes to be able to ride through without having to negotiate the speed bump.

Of course at the rate bicycles are being stolen and vandalized in this campground, the number of bicyclists is rapidly shrinking. Though one couple, that lost their new bikes  to thieves, purchased more new ones the next day. They had only ridden their old stolen bikes once. How sad. What is so creepy is that my neighbors near my bedroom window had their bike stolen as did the folks across from me.

CREEPY!

I would freak out if anything happened to my beloved bicycle. I keep it locked up, under cover, and with solar motion lights. Any time at night I wake up which is pretty often these days, I immediately check outside to see if my bicycle is still here and if a vandal is lurking in the bushes.

I am armed with assorted things including a big super bright spotlight. Did you know that wasp spray makes a good weapon? It shoots spray 20-30 feet and is rather offensive to humans as well as deadly to wasps.

Dark bags are starting to form under my eyes. I hate to nap during the day and miss out on sunshine. I get super depressed from lack of daylight, something called SAD I was diagnosed with over 30 years ago. It's sad too!

The campground is a MESS these days. Vandals have flattened tires, stolen bikes, wrecked the restrooms. Not sure why the sudden "siege" but I have big dark bags accumulating under my eyes from erratic sleep.

One couple arrived here late at night, checked in, parked on their site, unloaded their bicycles to store under their awning. They didn't lock them. A few hours later, the wife woke up and happened to glance outside to see HORRORS, their bicycles were gone.

I woke up alive, my bicycle and outdoor gear still here. No vandals or thieves struck my site. For this I am super grateful, but I feel sorry for those that have been robbed or vandalized.

At some point last night I came outside. I was sitting under the awning under a bright light when I heard something rustling in the grass behind my motorhome. I shrieked and shot up so fast and so high I thought I would rip out what's left of my semi-tattered awning.

Turned out it was a raccoon. He ran away so fast, I bet he never comes back around here again. I was WIDE awake after that encounter. Kind of funny now, but at the time, I thought it was a 2 legged monster sneaking up on me.

I passed an ugly snake in the road on my bicycle on my way home last evening.. A ranger and a shovel was dealing with it. I wasn't about to stop. I have a strong dislike for snakes. Rumors abound later that it was a copperhead.

I have to go now. I seriously need a nap. I am exhausted from all this excitement.