May 17, 2016. A Bike Ride in the Park and a Shrew in Harvey.

May 17, 2016.  A Bike Ride in the Park and a Shrew in Harvey.  There isn't much to tell you about the bike ride.  The pictures capture much of what we saw.  We spent a couple of hours on the bikes.  It was brisk still, but warm enough in the sunshine.  Annie says she sees a face in the stump in the first picture.  I don't see anything.  Do you?  Anyone who correctly identifies the face, if any, will get a major award.


We returned to Harvey late in the afternoon and settled in.  I was checking emails when Annie screamed.  Oh, it wasn't a little scream.  It was a SCREAM!  "I SAW A MOUSE!  IT'S IN THE BATHROOM!"


I had just read an email from Anne, one of my co-workers.  It dealt with a topic that was best handled with a phone call rather than email.  So, I started punching her number into my cell phone. 


"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THE MOUSE?"  Her voice was about two octaves above normal. 


"What did he look like?" I inquired as the phone began to ring. 


"He was black and had a pointed nose," she answered.


"That wasn't a mouse.  It was a shrew."


Anne's answer machine picked up.  "A SHREW!" Annie shouted.  "A SHREW!  That's worse than a mouse.  What are you going to do about it?"


I left a message for Anne.  "What do you want me to do?  We will pick up a trap tomorrow and catch him.  There's not much I can do now."


"What kind of man are you, anyway?"  Chastened, I picked up a shoe, went into the bathroom and closed the door.  I leaned against the sink with my arm cocked, ready to launch the shoe at the shrew when he showed his pointy little face. 


I waited, silently for about two minutes.  Then I heard construction sounds outside the door.  It was Annie, placing boxes against the bottom of the door so the shrew couldn't squeeze his tiny body under the door.  I opened the door to find something which resembled the not-so-Great Wall of China. 


"How am I supposed to get the shrew when you are outside the door using jackhammers and cranes on a public works project?" I asked.  I gave up.  The shrew has nothing to fear from the shoe. 


Tomorrow is a move day anyway.  We'll drop by the hardware shop and Mr. Shrew will be history.  Until then, Annie is sitting on her feet atop the chair.  And, yes, she is glaring at me, muttering something about marrying a mouse instead of a man.  Methinks there may be more than one shrew in here. 


Goodnight.