3/9-11/04 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way up I stopped in to visit Marilyn and George. They told me about the troubles they had with their composting toilet and how they discovered and fixed a rather simple problem with their septic system. They got rid of the composting toilet and went back to the original. I also updated them on my diagnosis of prostate cancer and assured them that it seems to be curable. Time will tell.

I arrived at 1:40. The temperature was 47 degrees. I checked and found out that the peanut on the floor was gone and the screen was still on the pipe. My victory celebration was evidently premature. The peanut was still in the pipe so I could conclude at least that the critters didn't get into the pipe from the outside. I don't think they can, but at this point I am not sure about anything. I set the trap just in case the critters might be up and about during the daytime. Then I moved in and had lunch.

I spent the afternoon sanding the logs that need another coat and I started scraping, planing, and gouging the short loft beam. This is a very lumpy log with lots of knots sticking out. It will look very nice in that prominent position when it is all finished, but it is very hard to work on, not only because it is so irregular but because I have to work on it from underneath on planks. My shoulders get very tired working with the tools overhead.

On Wednesday, I was pleased that I caught the pack rat again. I went through the same drill of getting the camera, carrying the trap outside, shutting the door, lifting the box off, taking a picture of the irate pack rat, and watching him run back behind the cabin. I must have caught him very early in the evening because there was a big puddle of urine on the plywood and no less than 43 turds. I didn't know that little guy had it in him.

I went through the drill again, checking all the holes I knew about, seeing that their screens were still intact, and I looked everywhere else I could think of where he might be able to get in. While I was up on a ladder in the loft trying to out-think the pack rat, I saw him appear in the corner as if from thin air. I made the mistake of watching him crawl down the wall and disappear down the crack between the wall and the floor. It was a mistake because now I couldn't remember exactly where I first saw him. I put my ladder up against the wall in that general area and looked for any possible hole. I didn't see any. There was one hole up against the Grid B purlin which I couldn't check out completely so I figured, and hoped, that this was how he got back in. I screened it over good and tight with hardware cloth and resigned myself that I had lost another round with the critter.

I went back to work and got the short loft beam and the loft beam support column ready for varnish. It was hard awkward work and my arms and shoulders were plenty sore by the time I finished. I set the trap again before I quit for the night.

On Thursday morning I was disappointed to find the peanuts on the floor were gone, and the trap was still set with the bait untouched. Either the pack rat has learned that the trap is dangerous, or he didn't like the smell of that big urine spot. Next time I'll put a clean piece of plywood under it. But for now, the pack rat is winning at least until at least next week. I think the score is something like pack rat 5, Martin 4.

I varnished all the prepared surfaces and was pleased with how the loft beam and column looked. I left for home at 12:45.