1) Finally! A good wordcount day! I was beginning to wonder, there.

1539 on the book which, no really, I think the end is in sight this time. (Although I am sure I can and will complicate it further for myself.) And 239 on a completely unrelated story, of which I have no idea where's it's going. Also, I'm mostly writing it while the tiny human takes a bath.* He really likes bathtime. He may be the 1st child ever to have "Bath" as his first word, said in tones of great and convincing excitement.

* ETA: let me clarify. Ben read this and was horrified at the thought of my typing merrily away at the computer (not located in the bathroom) while our precious progeny potentially drowned. While the small human splashes about, and throws Bitey the crocodile into the water with a most satisfactory displacement of water, and otherwise occupies himself, I sit on the toilet (lid down) and scribble away with a pen in a notebook. If he says "Ah!" (his favorite syllable), or splashes me, I put the pen down and go play with him. This story might be kind of disjointed, actually.


2) Also, we have a drip in our bathtub. Drip may be a misnomer; what we really have is a torrent.

"Hmmm," said the maintenance guy, "that's really going. What an antique! That's the original fixture." (building dates back to 1920s, I believe) "Wow, I'm gonna have to ask (landlord's name redacted) about that. I'm going to coordinate with the plumber, cause I gotta see this."

I can hear it gushing as I type this. Also, the landlord is finally getting around to locating and sealing the hole the possum came in through. ("I see the problem," says maintenance guy. "They can just crawl up that pipe and walk in like a sidewalk!") Considering that repairs are usually effected with the all the racing speed of molasses in January, this is pretty good for them.

3) Page 2 of the comic ( after the cut )

The possum is sucessfully relocated to the great outdoors. After reading up on possum trapping, I placed a tall kitchen trash can at a 45 degree angle on a stack of books, baited it with catfood, and waited. It wasn't too long before I heard the crunching of kibble (the cats did, too, and wanted to investigate, but I told them to wait, and they did.) I saw a wee naked tail vanish into the can, and then heard a sliding sound. The sound of crunching resumed, and I went over and tilted the trash can into its original upright position. Inside was a possum about the size of a kitten, and I got my brother in law to drive me up the hill, where I released it into the forest. Then I came home, full of happiness at a sucessful catch and release....

... and I think I heard something scratching behind the freakin' oven again. So I reset the trap. Please don't let there be babies.

...is an opossum. Ben saw it eating the cats' food out of their dish last night. It appears to be a juvenile, possibly the same one we saw trying to break in the front window a month or two ago. It's taken up residence behind or under the oven. I called animal control; they suggested I take it up with maintenance. I called my landlord* at about 10 this morning; the lady there said the maintenance guy would call me. it's now 2, and I haven't heard from him.

So. I also called a wildlife rehabilitator and googled "possum in house" and I am going to try to trap and release it tonight. (Possums are nocturnal. They also eat cockroaches. I hope he's snacking away while he's visiting. Our building is old.) Most possums are transients and will move on after a few days, but this one might be stuck, depending on how he got in. Possums do not usually have rabies. (This is good to know. We snagged the tiny human and decamped to my parents' house last night b/c the idea of a wild possibly sick animal roaming around the apartment was not appealing. The cats were left in charge and seemed to have regulated adequately.)

The trap suggested by the possum website is a kitchen trashcan tilted at a 45 degree angle, atop a stack of books or something, baited with catfood or ripe fruit. The possum climbs in and can't get out. If this works, I'll then release it a few blocks away and hope it does ok. I don't want to kill it, I just don't want it living with us.


*programmed into my phone as "Slumlords."

ETA: possibly a picture of the possum. Definitely a picture of A possum, and also our cat Buckley, who is very interested in marsupial B&Es.



ETA2: I don't know why that picture is huge and sideways.
ETA3: Should be fixed

uninvited unidentified mammal is making noises again. Where is the cat patrol?

I think I know what the end is! I've been feeling a little lost, because what I inititally thought was the end of the book turned out to be the middle, and stuff kept happening, things needed to be resolved, etc. etc. Now, I think I know where this is going, in a vague sort of way, at least, and I'm sure I'll find out more stuff along the way, but: Yay! Ending! I've been struggling through the bracken, and I rounded a corner, and behold! Right down the hill* there's a nice bench, a good place to stop and rest.

And I'm glad I figured out the end, because I was starting to think those thoughts, the ones where you ask yourself where the hell you're going with this, and is it even any good. OF COURSE it's not good, it's the first draft. But hopefully, there among the dross will be a framework of a story, and maybe some decent prose. I think I'm getting better as I go. I hope I'm getting better as I go.

I honestly can't wait for the rewrite. 1.) Because it will mean I have completed a novel, and I will feel good about that, and 2.) because I really like this story and these people, and I want to make them the best story and people that I am capable of, and 3.) because I really can't wait for Ben to read it.


Also, no further sign of the uninvited mammal. *fingers crossed it left the same way it came in*





*Right down the hill is further away than it may appear from this vantage point, of course.

There is an uninvited mammal in my kitchen. I'm not sure what it is. Could be a rat. or a little possum. Something.

I want it to go away. I've put the cats on the case. They make pretty intimidating muscle, if you're a rodent.

ETA: or a marsupial