Consarned Field Mice!!!!
 

In anticipation of the "Big Storm" the weather prognosticators predicted for today and tomorrow in coastal New England I decided to get the snowblower in good working order and besides, Kathy had smelled the strong aroma of gasoline wafting from the shed. She took a look about a week ago and told me there was a gas leak on the snowblower and that she had put a bucket under it to prevent the gasoline from saturating the wooden floor of the shed.

So, Saturday morning I hauled the snowblower out and took off the shrouding to take a look at the carburetor and fuel line. It turned out to be the screw that secured the fuel bowl to the bottom of the carb. so I tightened it, filled the gas tank, set the lever on choke and gave it two pulls. It started easily on the second pull! How lucky can a guy get??

I put the gear selector lever in position "1" and released the clutch......... nothin'!!
I put the lever in position "2", "3" and "R" and still nothin'!!

I resigned myself to pulling off the skid plate/cover from the clutch and gear selector housing and guess what I found.....:eek:

It seems that a field mouse (or mice) had decided to set up housekeeping in and around and fully incorporating the clutch mechanism of my snowblower. I wish I had a camera at the time! Suffice it to say that it took me the better part of an hour to complete the task of cleaning out the clutch housing of shards and fragments of shredded and pulled wool liner from an old Carhart jacket I had hanging in the shed for times when I would need it for outside work around the place.

But MAN, what a mess!! I have removed similar mouse-impacted debris from the rewind housing of my log-splitter and lawnmower.

This looks like a job for a .410!! :cuss:

Now THAT'S a better mousetrap!

U have thoes stinkers back east also! What a pain in the arce they are. 410 good idea but your going to have some pretty good patients to bag on.

Not to mention the manual dexterity required to skin and mount it properly...

;)

JD

John, I don't expect to ever surpass the one I bagged in '98. I had the taxidermist do a full shoulder mount. Look in the Boone & Crockett records under "Bull Field Mice".... mine tops the list, a world record. :whistle:

Deer Mouse
 

When I was in the Army I made a little box that fit under my bunk, with mounts for my Lyman nutcracker loading tools. I kept it in the shooting booth at my camp, and decided to bring it over here to NH. Luckily I opened it outdoors, as it had a deer mouse nest, complete with deer mouse inside.
We don't have deer mice here; but I saw those lonesome big ears around the woodshed for about three years.

Best, Austin

"A trophy"
 

This trophy was killed at our duck cabin Friday night. The tail was found on the glue pad the day before. He actually chewed his tail off and kept going back to the kitchen for more. What a stud!

Field Mice
 

This looks like a job for a .410!! :cuss:[/QUOTE]

Dean ... Field Mice are good eating but they're a real bitch to clean ... But it takes about 4 average size mice to make a man-size meal ... The gray ones and white ones aren't as nearly tasty as the black and brown varieties ... I shot many a mouse while hunting cotton-tail bunnies around Mattoon Illinois years ago ... And I got 4 babies on a single glue trap and bagged Momma and Poppa with scented traps from the hardware store a few years ago but quickly learned that the AriZOOna variety of field mouse is totally un-edible.

Jim Kucaba ... AriZOOna Cactus Parch ... Email: JimKucaba@aol.com

Jim, not one to be squeamish about trying new kinds of wild game I must admit to trying roasted field mouse and chipmunk too. I agree, really quite tasty but I think more like 8 mice would be more of a meal for me.

Here's a picture of a mouse we caught lounging on a small shed antler that Jamie found in the pines below camp. He brought it back to camp about two or three years ago and has tried to think of something artistic to do with it but I think the mouse has the best idea, don't you? I'll tell ya, whenever that mouse woke up to see us all standing around there looking at him he nearly turned himself inside-out getting gone in a big hurry.

:rotf:
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Sometimes - the truth is funnier than fiction....!!! Amazing!!!

:shock:

Best to you folks!!!

John