feed the birds...get a rat....

well during the summer i had an idea that i might like a bird feeder...well apparently birds can be quite picky eaters and they go through gobs of food to find what they want...so along with strange new plants growing in my grass; i also had a new visitor that appreciated the dropped seeds..it had moved the gravel from under our wood patio (at ground level)...it is quite nice...24X24 squares of 2X4 set up in alternating directions....see my wife's blog at http://www.knittingonestitchatatime.blogspot.com/ for the picture...

anyways the gravel had been moved out from under in several locations..thank goodness our deck is still solid and i could see cleared out holes along our vinyl fence and cement wall... with the new construction recently done across the street; i had dreaded that a groundhog had appeared...but no....to my good luck it is just one rat....kind of looked like a squirrel without a big tail...it did not look like a rat initially until i Googled pictures of wild rats and sure enough..it is one of them......i guess i'll call the city and see if they can give me a live capture trap... i'd hate to kill the thing out right and especially hate to deal with any mess in the backyard from doing so....and their are too many neighbor pets to use poison....so i guess i'll try my luck with a live capture trap....and i have the perfect bait..birdseed...now i just hope i catch a rat and not a bird..