Last before, Rat Wars, Carson done?

I had good weekend, the last one prior to this year’s Christmas holiday.  I did miss the 3 days off that I treated myself to the last couple weekends.  On Saturday I decided to get on the tractor to mow the yard.  Overall the growth was minimal but it was looking a little shaggy and I wanted things to both look nice for Christmas and also for me to not have to mow Christmas weekend.

So I have documented my battles with palm rats on our property for a long time.  I have tried numerous things to get them to move on like putting all the food away at night, using minty spray that they don’t like, various sonic repellers, and a few other things, all of which have proven ineffective.  I have not chosen to go the lethal route of using glue traps, poison, or spring loaded traps because despite the great annoyance and destruction they cause me, I hate killing other living creatures.

The only success I have had is using baited live traps.  In total I have probably caught at least 10 this way.  After I catch them we go on a short car ride where I release them into a remote wooded area.  Lately even that hasn’t been working well as the palm rats seem to have realized going into one of these traps is a one way ticket.  Not only do they hang out around the chicken area, they also like the large shed.

I actually ran power to the shed just so I could run sonic repellers in there.  I could hardly believe it when the other day I saw that one of the rats had started gnawing away at the insulation of the extension cord.  I’m not sure if it was smart enough to realize the cord was what was supplying power to the sonic devices but at this point I don’t rule it out.

I recently added a new tool to the arsenal an ultra-repeller.  Not only does it emit high frequency sounds that annoy rodents, it also has strobing LED lights AND prerecorded predator sounds that it plays on a cycle.  Unfortunately the predator sounds were scaring the chickens too so I turned those off.

We bought a metal trashcan that we use in the coop to hold all the food items as metal is immune to their gnawing little teeth.  Well somehow the rats have been able to do quick hit and run missions during the day.  They jump down inside the can and have gotten into some of the treats we have in bags. What is head scratching is how exactly they get out from the bottom of the metal trash can.  You would think the walls are far too slippery for them to climb out so palm rats must have incredible vertical leap abilities. I did manage to catch one of them in the large shed Saturday night.  I was wondering if perhaps I need to paint the trap just so it looks different.  This conflict has no foreseeable end in sight.

Saturday night Cindy and I saw “The Art of Racing in the Rain”.  By the title you wouldn’t know it but it is a dog story movie, something I would never consider watching in a theater because of the probable emotional reaction I will have to it.  This movie was no different.  Despite the tears it invoked and the rather depressing overall plot I thought it was really well done an A flick for me.

On Sunday Katie and DJ came over for a good chunk of the day which is always fun.  I also did a pedal upgrade on the Veteran Sherman followed by a test ride to Walgreens to pick up some business cards we made for Cindy’s new plant decor gig.  The ride was fast, stable, and fun.  I really do love my new wheel.

The Eagles had another late afternoon game, this time against the Cardinals.  Like most Eagles fans I was anxious to see if Jalen Hurts strong performance in his first start last week was a fluke or  the real deal.  Well despite losing the game, I think it is looking more and more like the latter.  The injuries on the Eagles roster are absolutely ridiculous.  On Sunday they were missing three of their starters in the secondary.  I had never heard of most of the guys that were out there playing.  The end result was the Arizona QB putting up huge numbers, throwing for over 400 yards.

However despite the defense rolling over and the Eagles being down 16-0 early, Hurts was almost able to force a tie at the end of the game.  He threw for three TD’s and ran for another.  The biggest and clearest difference is even with a rag tag offensive line Hurts is able to make plays on his own by either scrambling out of trouble or running with the ball.  Wentz just does not have that ability to take over a game himself.

Despite seeming good natured and supportive on the sidelines I knew how this must be killing Carson Wentz who just last year was seen as the QB of this team for the next 10 years.  I recall expressing doubt about Carson’s ability to perform under pressure last season and he promptly had a string of games to close out the season where he did just that, brought the team back in must win games to get into the playoffs.  I thought it meant great things for this year to see him finally play that way.

So when he struggled so badly this year it was frustrating to watch.  Repeatedly he would make bad decisions, make poor throws, turn the ball over and just hold on to it too damn long, taking tons of sacks.  He definitely has had reasons outside of his control, the injuries on the team this year are ridiculous with the two top wide receivers being gone, the offensive line being decimated, and his number one guy Zac Ertz going down as well.  Carson has faced a lot of obstacles to success this year, that can’t be denied.

However this is the NFL and winning is all that ultimately matters, not excuses.  Hurts has shown that even with a battered roster he can make plays.  If the team was healthy and had their starters in place maybe Wentz would have never struggled as he has.   We will never know but at this point if Hurts continues to impress there is a good chance that the Carson Wentz era in Philly is done, if they can find some way to unload his MASSIVE contract extension.

I get to enjoy a quick three day work week followed by a nice five day break, I can’t wait.