Apodemus sylvaticus
...also known as the common field mouse.
...also known as the little rat bastard who made his home in my grill.
Okay, so it had been nearly a month since Katie and I had grilled out. The last time was Memorial Day. This is quite uncommon for us as we love to grill. We just haven't had the time nor the desire to do it lately.
Last night, we decided we wanted to grill out some chicken breasts. I pulled the cover off the grill and lifted the lid so I could spray down the grill gridplates with my high-temp Pam cooking spray. And what to my wandering eyes should appear? But a mossy little nest and my furry friend living on coals.
The little bastard had built himself a veritable condo, or so Katie called it and I agreed. It was a 6x6 inch moss hut under the gridplate and sitting on the coals. When I saw him lurking around inside, I shook the grill and thought he had taken off. So I went to lift the plate out to remove the nest. That's when he shot out of hiding.
Sorry, no more games. I grabbed the hose and soaked the little booger. Next thing you see is a little waterlogged mass of fur racing across our slab deck. He was none too happy. Probably thinking, "what the hell did I ever do to you? Not like I burrowed my way through the foundation of your house or anything." Normally, I find mice to be cute. But he was keeping me from grilling. You never keep a man from his grill. Let me repeat that... NEVER.
After the soaking, I removed the nest and threw it over the berm in our backyard. Then I lit the grill and let it burn on high flame for a couple of hours in hopes of killing all germs the little bugger was likely carrying.
We cooked our chicken on the stovetop last night.
Just a quick comment that has nothing to do with mice...
You asked for comments on the new site design. I have to say that I don't like the red/purple combo. It hurts my eyes.
Posted by: Allison | Friday, 24 June 2005 at 12:40 PM
I was afraid that might happen with some people. I'm still playing though and it can be easily changed. Check back and see what you think of the new setup.
Posted by: Kevin | Friday, 24 June 2005 at 12:51 PM
I toned down the red to a bit of a salmon-y color and darkened the yellow in the hover links to a more goldtone. This seems to help a bit. I may darken the red a little more but it was a pretty hard contrast before. The problem arose in that I wanted to keep the purple color from my old site and still use red links. However, when I set the color for my links, they remain the same color regardless of where on the site they are being used. Be it on the purple sidebars or the white body area. So I needed something that will work in both instances. I think it works now.
What do you think?
Posted by: Kevin | Friday, 24 June 2005 at 01:15 PM
Better... I like this red more. Course, I could just be picky since I have terrible eyesight.
Posted by: Allison | Friday, 24 June 2005 at 02:15 PM