An ermine is a pint sized cousin of the weasel family:
Sly and stealthy, shows dietary strengths/weaknesses, ability to get out of tight spots and situations, loners, can sniff out what is hidden and show how to determine things that are hidden, observation skills and keen sense of discernment. Are you listening carefully? Time to dig deeper? Weasel teaches intelligence and the power of observation along with discretion to avoid trouble. Time to trust you instincts and pursue you goals.
Just look at that adorable face
March came in like a lion for it’s first week. Lots of snow and blizzard like conditions. But yesterday was beautiful here in the U.P. of Michigan. The second week of March warmed with plenty of sunshine, which puts us into mud season. We have many seasons.
Because spring was now in the air Hubby and I had decided to grill some hamburgers on the deck for our evening meal. We planned ahead and took some frozen hamburger out of the freezer to thaw while we played in the mud around the yard. He needed something from the house and went inside. To his total astonishment, when he got into the kitchen he was met face to face by a little white, furry creature on the stove just about to taste the thawing hamburger.
Hubby got his shock under control and began chasing it around the house making a racket. What the heck! I went in to see what was happening to my house. I get to the mudroom and kick off my boots and met him in the kitchen.
“What the heck are you doing in here?” I asked. He is standing in front of the patio door with it wide open.
He looked at me with total defeated frustration said, “You know that little ermine we kept seeing around here last fall, well he is in here and he almost got the hamburger on the stove. I can’t him to go out.”
“Uh, sweetie.” I said as I pointed into the bedroom. “There he is on the bed.” Cutest damn critter I’ve ever seen. Such a sweet face. “Don’t hurt him.” I begged. Which hubby was determined wasn’t in his vocabulary at the moment. Kill the little bastard was the word of the day.
When we encouraged the ermine to go back into the kitchen we opened all the doors leading outside and closed all interior doors. We took turns doing laps around the house until he finally ran behind the kitchen stove and wiggled his way under the sink and went out the drain pipe opening. We figured he must have entered into the crawl space and up the drain pipe opening. These little creatures could fit through a crack in the wall for sure.
Well, guess what? Later that evening, when we had settled in for the night that little adorable irritant was back. Ah, the joys of living in the woods. Last fall we had a family of raccoons storming the place and tearing up my apple trees. One industrious raccoon managed to get the chicken coop sliding door open and killed one of my hens. Grrrrrh! We’ve had an explosion of our rabbit population too. We had to buy more fencing for the gardens. But I digress.
Back to that damn little weasel. Hubby is now going wild. He brings out the big guns, the broom. Thump, bam, thump again! He is trying to smack it with the broom but it’s like greased lightening and darts behind the furniture. “He’s over there, no, he over there.” He shouts.
Finally, the tiny white streak dashes behind the kitchen stove and goes out the drain pipe, again. He’s gone for now. But what can we do to keep him out, I certainly don’t need a weasel for a pet no matter how adorable he is.
I read somewhere that because animals, particularly mice have extensive sensitive noses. In other words, they don’t like potent aromas like peppermint. So, I grabbed the bathroom spray. You know, the one that makes your bathroom smell like flora scented feces. I sprayed under the sink until I almost emptied the can.
Oh, gag me. The house was now over powered with that awful spray. But it worked. That irritating, adorable creature didn’t come back. Yet. . .
In loving memory of
Claudia G.
He is not quite your beloved kitty but maybe just as cute.
