Rodents

First I caught a mouse inside my home, and now I'm being tormented by another mouse behind a downstairs wall.  The scrabbling noise the mouse is making against the wall has been driving me absolutely crazy for the last few days as I'm trying to "work" on my computer or watch TV.  God knows how it managed to get behind that wall - I can only assume it must be via the crawl space below the house as there is no other way in I can see.  Regardless, I mentioned it to my landlord and he has set up a few old-fashioned mouse traps complete with cheese bait.  But I don't think they will work - I've only ever seen the one mouse out in the open, and I caught it.  And I've seen absolutely no evidence of any other mice - no droppings, no signs of gnawing or anything.  So I suspect I will continue to be tormented by this infuriating scratching sound for a while yet.    

Song of the Week #125

A strange one this week - a dance track from the early 90's.  I don't recognize the song at all, yet this is what came up when I did a search on the lyrics - which somehow entered my consciousness this week from somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind.  It's funny how memory and the old brain works.  I don't even think this is the song I meant to remember - maybe I got the lyrics mixed up with something else (which wouldn't be the first time).   

Broken Record

It's insane that we are still seeing these news articles about Trump claiming he won the election, even though that election occurred nearly 2 years ago.  And he lost.  It's insane that he is still making these statements.  It's insane that it still makes the headlines.  It's insane that millions of people still believe his bullsh*t.  And it's insane that he is probably going to run for the presidency again, even if he gets indicted.  He's a crook - and everyone knows it.  Stealing classified documents is about the least of it.  If the Republican party had any sense, they would distance themselves from him.  But they can't, and I hope they suffer the consequences (but they probably won't, because the American people are so dumb).         

Dusk

I'm very confused.  It's 8.30 pm.  It's dark outside (it already feels like the days are getting shorter - sunset is before 8 pm now).  And one of my neighbors has decided to start mowing his lawn.  Which is insane.  And not the first time this has happened.  Admittedly, most people round here have a sit down lawn mower - and he probably has one with lights.  But still, why cut the grass so late?  As well as disturbing the neighbors, it is asking for trouble.  What if he runs over something he shouldn't do but didn't see?  There is no reason not to do this when it's still light outside - it's not like it was a particularly hot day or anything.  Was this really the only time he had free to do this?  It all seems very strange to me.           

A Bobcat Sighting

Yesterday evening, I was sitting down in my living room watching the telly - it was early evening, still light out - when a flash of movement or color caught my attention to my left through the back patio door.  And what did I see?  Only a bobcat, slowly sidling through my yard just beyond the patio.  Not a care in the world.  My first thought?  I need a photo of this.  Momentary panic - I wasn't sure where I'd left my phone.  Gathered my thoughts, grabbed my phone from the kitchen, and headed out to my conservatory - and yes, there was the bobcat still.  A quick photo through the window - not high quality, obviously had to be done in a rush - but at least I managed to finally capture the bobcat on film as it crossed my driveway and before it slinked away into the undergrowth and out of view.

That's kind of cool right!  Given the amount of deer I've been seeing in the yard this summer, which has been a lot, I'm guessing it was on the hunt for those.  Just today on the way out for a walk, I came across a family of deer just hanging out outside my house.

Health News

I don't want to end the week on a downer, but I have some health news to share.  Something I've been keeping to myself for a few weeks.  I have officially got type 2 diabetes.  Fortunately I have caught it early - my A1C is at the extreme lower limit of being defined as diabetes.  So it should be manageable, and shouldn't have any sort of massive affect on my quality of life - at long as I can keep it under control.  I'm certainly not asking for sympathy - I only have myself to blame for the years of abuse to my body through a sedentary lifestyle and a negligent diet and exercise regime.  Conversely, I'm not going to suddenly make enormous changes to my lifestyle - I'm not going to be able to sustain that.  It's much more important for me just to make gradual and sensible good decisions when it comes to what I drink/eat and how much I exercise etc etc.  I've been prescribed some medication to lower my cholesterol, and apparently the new blood pressure medication that I've just started recently should also help (it has already helped lower my blood pressure).  So let's see how it goes until my next checkup towards the end of the year.  And no need to worry about anything just yet.             

Welcome to Wrexham

I've just caught the first few episodes of Welcome to Wrexham.  For those who don't know, it's about 2 Hollywood stars who have taken over ownership of Wrexham AFC.  Who are in the National League (the 5th division - and as the show keeps reminding you, the lowest tier of professional football).  So far, it's an enjoyable and interesting docu-series - with a slight hint of artificiality, but thankfully more of a focus on the club and the community rather than the actual Hollywood stars.  You kind of wonder about the true intentions of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - the fact that they were filming their pitch to the Wrexham supporters group before even being approved as the owners suggests that their priority was making this TV show from the outset above caring about the actual club or town.  And of course the series is highly produced for the American audience.  From explaining lots of things like the concept of promotion and relegation - something alien to American sports - to subtitles for any regional accent (none of which was necessary to my ear), to even providing translations for British terms than aren't familiar to Americans (such as getting "sacked"!).  Despite the nagging feeling that they just wanted to capitalize on the popularity of Ted Lasso in the US, it is entertaining enough to keep me watching.  Even if it's just a publicity stunt.