Cabin Crafted

Author: Cabincrafted1

  • Spring time brings History Education

    Spring is the time the museum gets school groups to learn local history and pioneer life skills. Today we had about 97 sixth graders from one of the local middle schools to learn about western expansion from post Revolutionary War through the 1830s. The kids were divided into 6 groups that rotated through the 6 stations for about 20 minutes per station. As the resident spinner, I am privileged to get to use the loom house, an original Newbern, VA home, a 10 x 10 foot log cabin that was relocated from another lot in Newbern to the museum property in 1830 and given an upper loft. A bit of history about Newbern and the house which was occupied from 1830’s til well after the Civil War by an enslaved woman and her son. She was so valued as a weaver that after emancipation, she was allowed to continue to live in the house and was paid for her weaving skills for the community. Her son was the first African teacher for the freed African children and paid enough that he later paid his way through Hampton Institute to earn his teaching degree.

    With me in this photo is Sarah, a local whose ancestors were enslaved Cherokee and Africans and she teaches about slavery for the groups. I discussed cottage industries of spinning and weaving and the life of a frontier woman.

    Though the weather began dark and drizzly, we ended up with a mild, cloudy day and only an occasional mist, so very lucky as two of the 6 stations are outdoors and the groups of 12-15 students had to shift between the stations every 20 minutes.

    Over the next two weeks, we will have 3 other groups visiting us there, another sixth grade group from a different middle school, a 4th grade group, and a 2nd grade group. The second graders might prove to be the most challenging to keep engaged, though I suspect their rotations will be much shorter.

    As a retired educator, though not in history, I thoroughly enjoy working with the children and work hard to make the sessions interesting and engaging, throwing in tidbits like few baths, only about 2 outfits that are handed down until worn out, and the tasks that they were likely to have had to help the family. Many of the 4th and 6th graders have read some of the original fairy tale versions, so the Sleeping Beauty finger prick is fun to discuss from what probably really happened to her, as I am demonstrating spinning on a walking wheel with a quill. They are a fun age to teach.

    I look forward to the future groups scheduled and any additional ones that may fill the calendar.

  • A Weekly Missive

    I have been a lax blogger of late. We have had another round of doctors and imaging, and most of it has been at least in the right direction. More to come in the following week.

    My physical trainer and I decided that since I wanted to continue working with her, the best thing to do was come up with 4 workouts to add to the walks. Two whole body, 1 upper body, and 1 lower body. We finished the series this week and will now work to increase reps and weights as tolerated by my shoulder and other achy joints. My strength and flexibility have improved, even in the shoulder with bursitis and torn bicep. On nice days (above 50, not too windy, and dry), we walk a local trail. On cooler days, rainy days, we have been walking a small indoor mall, 6 laps to a mile. Yesterday and today, we both went back to the gym. While hubby walks the indoor track, 9 laps to a mile, I hop on a treadmill. I have been working on increasing my speed while still keeping my heart rate in a “safe” for a 76 year old zone. Today I did 2 miles at 4 mph, then walked a few laps of the track with hubby to cool down some and did my lower body workout. Per Nietzsche, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

    It has been too cool to do much in the garden. We even had 3 days of snow flurries this week. And the wind for the past couple of weeks has been brutal. The peas are up, except a 2 foot strip where two of the hens got in the garden and decided to dig there. The asparagus are beginning to show. Soon there will be plenty to enjoy and share with daughter. On one of the only warm sunny days last week, something got in the bin of tomato and pepper starts and took off with a pepper plant. I guess I will have to figure out how to protect them when they are on the deck and replant that pot (again).

    Two of my houseplants that summer on the front porch were looking ragged in the corner they occupy during the winter. One is a Dracena fragrans, the other a large Jade plant. Today, the Dracena was cut back and repotted in fresh soil and the Jade was pruned. I purchased a fig that can grow in a container and it came yesterday. It was potted up as well and all three of the pots on floor protecting rolling trays were put in a sunnier location on the south side of the house until they can be put outdoors.

    Today was moving day for the chicks. The Calico Princesses are huge, the Buff Orpington, and the little black pullet catching up in size, were moved to the coop. After our walk, workout, and grocery run, the coop was divided in half with a baby gate and pieces of plastic erosion fencing with the hens having their food on the pop door side and access to 3 nesting boxes. The chicks having their food and water on the door side with 3 nesting boxes and perching room. A few weeks of cohabitation safely divided and a little more size on the pullets, they will be set free in the coop with the divider down. There will be some settling of pecking order, but that is inevitable.

    When I went out to snap this photo, there was a dog I have never seen before nosing around the chicken run. The hens had the sense to go in the coop as you can see through the barricade. When I ran it off, it took off not toward known neighbors. I hope I don’t have another predator to have to deal with.

    We loaned our scaffolding to a young couple to build their house. Most of it was returned a very long time ago, but we let them hold on to a few sections for additional tasks they had. They volunteered their help on anything I needed in exchange. Once I figure out the configuration and make a materials list, they are going to help me rebuild the chicken run, well made, and covered with chicken wire, hopefully tall enough or nearly tall enough for me to work inside and to keep the hawks out from above and the dogs and coyotes out from the sides. The gate will need to be secured better than the rock that leans up against the outside of it now.

    On the craft front, I purchased some fabric, mostly Kaffe Fassett prints, made strips of 4 patterns sewn together with a layer of flannel between the top and the back and I’m making a Kantha quilt lap blanket to use on my new recliner on cool nights. In a week, I have managed about 1/4 of the running stitches that hold the layers together.

    It isn’t quite as large as I hoped, but large enough for a first attempt. The fiber hubby gave me for Christmas and spun on my spindles is being knit into a Reyna scarf for me. There is a little bit of spinning going on, but it is not a current priority.

    The week is supposed to warm back up, so the peas will be replanted, any additional weeding needed will be done. And Wednesday will be the first of 4 class sessions at the Museum over the next 3 weeks. I do enjoy doing them, most are 4th and 6th graders, but one group will be 2nd graders. I’m going to have to think about how to present to them. I need to make sure my costume is clean and pressed.

  • And Then There Were Four

    After last week’s Cooper Hawk attack killed my last Buff Orpington, we went to Rural King and came home with 6 chicks. Two of them were too weak to make it but Rural King has a replacement policy so on Monday we went back and they replaced them. The original 6 were 2 each Buff Orpingtons, Calico Princesses, and a tiny black chick (maybe Black sex link, as there were two breeds in the bin and the sub that came in to get them didn’t know which was which.) One Buff and one black were the ones that didn’t survive the night. The replacements were a Buff and another Calico Princess. They are surviving great.

    Four of them stretching to see what was going on in the room. The Buff and the black are smaller than the others and are hiding under the heat table. I’m thinking they are all Calico’s, even the supposed replacement Buff. They are already growing back feathers, have long feathered wings, but will be late July or early August before they begin to lay.

    After nearly of week of being penned up, I let the remaining 5 hens out today, it was a thick rainy day and I hoped they would be safe. Nope, the Hawk got one more, so now there are only 4 laying hens who unfortunately will have to remain penned up. With all the squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, moles, and voles, the Hawk can take, I can’t afford to let it continue to hunt my hens. The only solution I can think of to expanding the hen’s territory is to make a tunnel within my garden with chicken wire so then can wander the length of the garden eating bugs and weeds without digging up my veggies.

    After the weekend, another garden box was cleared and one each row of peas and sugar snap peas planted in that bed. Sprouting potatoes were cut to seal over, and a sweet potato set in a jar of water to hopefully sprout shoots before they are needed for the garden. After Sunday night’s below freezing temperature, the potatoes will be planted between and outside of the two rows of peas and covered with straw. The replacement garden box that was ordered arrived late yesterday, but I need a warmer, drier day to assemble it and fill it with soil and compost. Since it will be planted with beans which are still 6 weeks away from planting, there is no hurry. The tomatoes have all sprouted and about half of the peppers have. As soon as the rest sprout, they will get deck time in filtered sun protected in a plastic crate so they grow strong not tall. They will be brought in at night and on days that are too cool, until it is time to plant them in the ground.

    My plum tree is full of blossom buds and tomorrow night is supposed to drop into the upper 20’s. I’m seriously thinking about throwing a sheet over it to keep it from dropping the blooms. Last year, a freeze kept it and the two peach trees from producing any fruit. I am hoping for plums and peaches this year. And figs. Even if the one in the back garden doesn’t produce, I have ordered a small fig that than be potted in a big pot and brought in during the winter. Since I don’t have or need a true hoop house, I have to work with what I do have.

  • Olio-March 3, 2024

    Olio: a miscellaneous collection of things or thought.

    Yesterday was not a great day. When we were out for breakfast and the Farmer’s Market, we stopped by Lowes to pick up hardwood floor cleaner and restorer. Once home, we put the German Shephard outdoors and I moved the dining room furniture, bench and antique sewing machine from the hall, swept, vacuumed, and set to work. The floors were thoroughly cleaned with hardwood cleaner and when dry, the restorer was applied. It takes an hour to dry, so a short break was taken. Once it was dry, the living room furniture was moved, the old worn out rug was rolled up, but too heavy for me to remove it to the porch for disposal. Help has been requested to get rid of it. That floor was then thoroughly cleaned and the restorer applied. The floors look so much better now.

    Since the dog’s nails were well past time to be clipped and since she was still outdoors, I tried to tie her to the front porch rail to do her nails. She really hates the process and usually we either take her to the vet or work together to get it done. I failed to put the mesh muzzle on her and when she totally freaked out, she managed to bite through my fleece and tee shirt and break the skin on the back of my upper arm. I won’t post the picture of that. It was cleaned up, treated, and covered. I still haven’t forgiven her, but I didn’t harm her. From now on, she will be muzzled to do her nails or brush her, which she also hates.

    As I was preparing the dough for our pizza, I noticed that none of the chickens were visible in the front or back of the house, nor could I see them under the coop when I looked out through the garage. That sent me out on a quest and as soon as I opened the side garage door, the Cooper Hawk flew out from under the Forsythia bushes and my last Buff Orpington had been killed under there. It was such a fresh kill that the only damage was the kill injury. I finally rounded up the remaining 5 hens from around the property and secured them in their run. Since the beginning of winter, 4 of my hens have died or been killed.

    This afternoon, we went by Rural King and I purchased 2 Calico Princesses, 2 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Black chicks which are now in the wire dog cage in the garage with a heat table, food, water, and a perch.

    The Calico’s already have wing feathers, so they may be a week older than the other 4. It wasn’t really my plan to raise chicks again, but I was losing hens too fast.

    A few days ago, the tomato and pepper seed were started in small pots. They haven’t sprouted yet. Tomorrow is supposed to be another warm day followed my mild rainy days. The spinach, some onion sets, and strawberry plants are going to be interplanted in one of the boxes. Today the huge cardboard box from my recliner was cut open and placed in an area or the garden that had too many weeds and no desired plants and covered with some of the old hay. The garden is beginning. And the workbench in the garage cleaned up and organized yet again, and the garage and workbench swept down. A fair amount of work done for one day.

  • Planning

    It is getting to the time to start thinking about this year’s garden. A few weeks ago, Son 1 tried to relocate one of the boxes I had made with reclaimed deck wood but it just fell to pieces. That box was adjacent to the compost area where all of the chicken coop cleanings and kitchen scraps that the chickens don’t get are put, so having a defined box is helpful. There was a galvanized metal box purchased a few years ago that was not in a good location, so after my morning Physical Training session, I moved the box and filled it.

    One more 3 x 4 or 4 x 4 box needs to be added and filled. The largest box that got overwhelmed with pumpkin vines last year was cleared of the dead vines and raked smooth. The asparagus bed that was burned off a couple of weeks ago was raked. It still needs to be mulched with old hay.

    Once back in the house, the garden plan template was updated and a planting plan designed for this year’s garden. Some items I have planted in the past won’t be in this year’s garden. Many of those items are ones I can purchase at the Farmer’s Market and when grown at home produce more than we can use in a harvest and we don’t care for canned or frozen, so will just be enjoyed seasonally by purchase.

    Most of the seed is on hand. My favorite Garden Center reopens tomorrow for 2024, so the remaining seeds can be purchased there. If I can figure out a way to make a mini greenhouse, the lettuce and spinach will be transplanted out during this week’s warm spell.

    The Amaryllis given to me Christmas 2023 in bloom by a good friend is about to burst open again for this year. Once it finishes it’s bloom and begins to produce leaves, it will summer on the deck and hope that again it blooms next year. An ever lasting gift.

  • Olio – 2/25/2024

    Olio: a miscellaneous collection of things (thoughts)

    It has been almost a week since hubby was released from the hospital for the second time in 3 weeks. Diagnosis has been all over the map, from Covid related, to pneumonia, to autoimmune disease. The tests mostly ruled out pneumonia and tilt toward autoimmune issues likely caused by immunotherapy treatments. We see our primary tomorrow with lots of questions as the various test results come in.

    The hospitalization required me to miss a week of personal trainer, but a return this week to a serious kick butt lower body workout. I found muscles that walking and stair climbing miss, but hide in the thighs and hips.

    The stress is causing the shoulder with bursitis and a torn bicep tendon to tighten up. This happened last year at the fiber retreat and my yoga teaching friend did a Vulcan Death grip on that area and it magically released. I will have to ask Megan, my PT for a stretch that isn’t already in my workouts that might help with it as my friend lives more than 3 hours away.

    The sit and wait times last weekend and this week sent me back to a Sashiko panel I started over a year ago. Some time ago, I had the idea to make the panel into a Turkish Spindle case. Night before last, the stitching was finished and yesterday, a case was made using pre-quilted white fabric as the interior. Pockets were stitched and each shaft for a spindle has the thin end protected by a length of rigid soda straw.

    Often, I am dissatisfied with project like this, but this time, I am very pleased.

    Also while sitting in the hospital room with hubby, and in my spare time at home, I finished spinning the wool blend he gave me for Christmas. The entire amount was spun on the tiny Jenkins Finch spindle he gave me for our 45th anniversary last year.

    The finished skein with the tiny spindle now working on a different fiber. The spindle lives in my bag with some wool. In the spindle photos, you can see the soda straw that protect the fragile end of the shaft when it is removed for travel. There are other spindles that get pulled out for use, but I seem to migrate to this one most often.

    I have one more 6 block Sashiko panel that I finished long ago and plenty of the white quilted fabric, I need to figure out a project to use them, maybe a case for my fixed circular knitting needles or crochet hooks. And the skein of yarn to be knit into something requiring about 400 yards of lace weight yarn.

    The two beautiful roosters no longer reside at this address. Between their noise, and the fact that one was aggressive toward me and the other young rooster encouraged me to send them on their way. A Craigslist ad brought a Ukranian refugee living with his daughter and her sons to pick them up. Whether they became part of a flock or part of a meal worries me not at all. The hens seem happier not to be ganged up on and eggs are back in good supply even though the youngest Marans was recently killed by some predator. The remaining 6 provide 2 to 5 eggs daily, enough for us and for daughter’s household.

    Four of the hens are now 3 years old, I guess they will have to be replaced soon. Only one of them is providing more than 1 or 2 eggs a week. The carton for daughter has many more blue and green eggs than brown, though there are as many brown layers as colored layers. I don’t want 6 more chicks, only about 4, but you are required to purchase at least 6 chicks at a time. If I can find a local that wants a couple of pullets, I will buy 6 and raise them to coop introduction size and give away the extras. I guess if a hen goes broody on me this summer, I can let her sit false eggs for 3 weeks and introduce day old chicks under her and let her raise them for me. She will protect them and teach them if she thinks they are her own.

    Yesterday, they predicted snow after a week of spring like temperatures. We got mostly rain with a little slushy bit added in, but nothing on the ground. The temperatures are again climbing to spring like weather after a night in the low 20’s. Another 3 or 4 weeks, it will be time to start the tomatoes and peppers seedlings. The Aerogarden was planted this week with mixed Romaine lettuces and a window seed starter has deer tongue lettuce and spinach starts. Soon they will go in pots to be nurtured until I can plant them out under some sort of cover. Since my little garden green house blew off and was destroyed by the wind, I need to improvise. I keep seeing an idea on social media to use plastic milk cartons, but I don’t buy milk in plastic, so maybe a mini hoop house can be created with plastic sheeting and later row cover.

    Enough meanderings of my mind. Have a great week.

  • Great Surprise Weekend

    During the week, Son 1 let us know he was going to come in late Friday night and stay until after lunch today. Late Friday afternoon, Son 2 called and said his medical transport company was transporting a patient from his area to ours and he was going to drive the run with an employee that would drive the ambulance back if I could pick him up at a nearby hospital in the early morning of Saturday. His wife and 5 of their kids would drive up arriving late afternoon and they would leave very late evening to go back home.

    We had arranged with Daughter and her fiancé to go see their new house and the progress they had made in getting it ready to move into soon. It needed some work that they have mostly done themselves to get it ready.

    We showed up just after our lunch on Saturday with both sons. She knew Son 1 would be with us, but the Son 2 plans occurred after our call. She was happily surprised to see both brothers with us. It has been a very long time since we had all three of our adults kids in the same room at the same time.

    As we were getting ready to leave from their house, Son 1 asked her if they would be at dinner. A moment of mild panic on my part as that would put 14 people at the table, but WOW, all three of our kids, 7 of our grandkids, 1 wife and one fiancé all at one time. We stopped on the way home, bought 16 burgers, 16 buns, 2 bags of frozen steak fries, 1 bag of frozen sweet potato fries, some salad greens and dressing to add to the goodies from the Farmer’s Market we had done earlier, a dozen ice cream cups and we would have dinner for all.

    I set a folding table up at the end of the dining table with both leaves. Gathered all the chairs I could find including the piano bench and we set the table with paper plates (I don’t have enough pottery plates for 14), paper napkins so there wasn’t an entire load of cloth napkins.

    Then the sons went down to the bee yard with me and broke it down. The hive that had been the weaker one, had a ball of bees right in the middle, they had eaten about half of the sugar block, but there weren’t enough of them and they had frozen to death. The stronger hive must have left the hive before the week of very cold weather, there was an un hatched queen cell and just a few hundred dead bees, but several frames of honey. It was all packed up and most of it later packed in Son 2’s van to go home with them. He had purchased most of the equipment for me two years ago, but my age, eyesight, and strength just aren’t enough to try again for a third year.

    DIL and kiddos arrived, Daughter and family arrived after they finished their house work. We were missing 2 grandkids, and a Daughter-in-love and her son, but it was so wonderful to have all of them together. The littles dumped the toy basket, fought over them, cleaned them up repeatedly. Ate burgers, fries, salad, and ice cream, played ping pong, had a “rock band” in the basement, with the drum set and guitars including the two preteen gals, the 4 little ones, and Son 1 (the owner of the instruments). Daughter and her family left, then around 10, Son 2 and his family left for home.

    It made my heart happy. Having so much of our family together was wonderful.

    This morning, Son 1 helped me with some chores, then I fixed a Mexican fiesta meal for us and he headed home. We are tired, but so happy.

  • So Much For Schedules

    Late last week, we received a call asking if today, Wednesday was a good day to deliver my new rocking recliner. Nothing taking us far from home was planned, so we said yes. We were then informed that we would receive a call yesterday to let us know when we had to be home for the delivery. No call, but later in the evening, I spotted a text message saying it would be between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m.

    This morning with that in mind, we set out for town by 10:30 to take the old chair to the dump, pick up some groceries, a med that had been refilled, to get fuel for the car, and grab a quick lunch. We had plenty of time to do that and be home before 1:30. At 11:30, a text was received that they would be there in 20 minutes, but I was driving and didn’t see it until I had parked and there was a second text that they were 10 minutes out. Town is 20 minutes from our house. Stressing that we would miss them and they wouldn’t leave the chair, we dropped all errands yet undone and headed home. About 5 minutes from home, they called wondering where we were. Hubby told them we had been notified that the delivery wouldn’t be before 1:30 and they apologized indicating that they were quicker than expected and would it be ok to just leave it on the porch. Yes, of course. But we continued on the 5 more minutes, passing the truck as it went down the mountain. The huge box was marked on all 4 sides with instructions for them “Do not open,” “Drop ship only.” Getting the box slide into the house was fairly easy and to ensure that there was no damage, we went on and opened the carton. The seat back was easy enough to remove and carry up the stairs. The seat part was another story. After splaying out all of the flaps and turning the box over, we extricated the main part of the chair from the box, but it was too heavy for me to carry upstairs alone.

    Since hubby is still recovering from his most recent bout of illness, we left it sitting and returned to town to pick up where we left off on the errand list. Of course, this entire time, my mind is busy trying to figure out how we were going to manage this without calling in the assistance of a strong grandson and daughter’s fiance, or begging a neighbor.

    Errands accomplished, groceries stored away, trash cleaned up from the packing material and we decided that if I was on the upside, lifting a step or two at a time with rest periods allowed, we could manage it. I managed to pinch hubby’s hand between the chair and the footrest, but we got it to the top. Once there, I could finish the job of placing it, putting the back on it and testing it out.

    It seems like a good place to nap or read.

    Thank you for my new chair, Babe.

  • Getting In Shape

    I have long known that in addition to cardio workouts, weight training was also important, especially as we age. Being no spring chicken and having had a couple of injuries long ago, that had contributed to bursitis and arthritis in hands and shoulders, then rupturing my left bicep tendon helping the old Mastiff to his feet using a beach towel, it became more imperative to do something about it. We had 5, 10, and 15 pound free weights, but I needed guidance.

    Hubby gave me a gift certificate for training at the gym where we have a membership through our Medicare Supplemental Insurance. The head trainer, based on my brief note of age and what I wanted, connected me with the perfect trainer. She is a young mom, less than half my age, but with a few health issues herself. Her plan that varies each week has stretches first, weight bearing exercises with free weights or resistance bands, and stretches to end. If an exercise or stretch causes pain in my shoulder, she quickly modifies it or changes the exercise to one that will help with my flexibility and strength without causing more injury. Each weekly session is 30 minutes and I get to the gym in time to do a couple brisk miles on the treadmill prior to the session. I did purchase a resistance band and a 3 lb free weight so I can do the session at home between weekly meetings with her. The motivation of getting together, the plans she emails me after the session have really helped me get going. Today, I signed up for more sessions, so I will work with her for 6 weeks. Since the sessions are reasonably priced, I may continue adding weeks with her as I go along, as long as she feels she has something to offer.

    With the floor space, a mat, and a bench, the loft is the perfect place to put in 30 minutes of training a day, rotating through the plans she has sent home with me.

    When we get hubby’s energy level back up, we will extend and speed up our daily walks together, but this is a slow recovery for him this time.

    The gift certificate was a great gift.

  • Musings of the Mind

    We endured another health set back when DH developed a cough and high fever after his last immunotherapy treatment. The PCR test popped up positive, though they said it can do that for 90 days post Covid, the chest x-ray was cloudy, so he was admitted and treated for Covid and pneumonia of unknown organism. Sunday he was allowed home with three meds and instructions to follow up with the PC Doc and the Urologist. We immediately repeated the home antigen test as we had done one prior to the hospital that was negative and the one upon release also negative. It is likely it was just pneumonia, and probably caused by the immunotherapy treatment. Those appointments are scheduled. To help him regain his strength, we have done slow 1 mile walks the past two days.

    Twice in the past, I have written posts about “The Chair.” In brief, he spotted a huge recliner in Sam’s Club about 25 years ago. Daughter and I managed to get it home and hidden for Christmas, a long story. That chair lasted for a number of years, moved to the mountains with him, and the faux leather finally failed to the point that I didn’t want to see it in the house any longer. It was replaced with a second faux leather chair that also failed, and a couple years ago with a slightly smaller real leather chair. Our mastiff used to climb in his lap in the old chair, totally off the floor, but otherwise did not get on furniture. He couldn’t quite fit in the newer chair, but would back up and sit on the edge with his front feet on the floor. (We miss the big guy and his antics.)

    At some point, between the second and third purchases, we purchased me an imitation Ekornes chair and ottoman which was faux leather. It lasted a fairly long time, but about a year ago, the pleather began to peel off and now, there is only the ugly fabric base on the seat and arms and mostly gone on the ottoman. Today, we found a real leather recliner in my size on sale at a decent price and ordered it. It will be my anniversary gift from my love and should arrive right around our anniversary on Valentines Day.

    Lessons learned about furniture purchases. The living room couch and chair that we bought about 1994 was real leather and has held up remarkable well. The basement couch is a Lazy Boy product that is a combination of leather and faux leather and has not held up as well, but is holding it’s own with the light use it gets down there.

    While he was in the hospital, at night I would curl up in his big recliner with my blanket for comfort.

    On a humorous note, we have our youngest son’s RV parked on our farm. Because the two auxiliary batteries are under the steps and it is open to the ground below them, I keep a mouse trap on top of the batteries. It is checked every couple of days, always with another caught mouse. The traps that I use are Vector traps and allow the caught mouse to be released without touching it. I generally spring the trap open as I fling it free of the RV out into a field, and reset the trap. Today on our way out for errands and walk, I stopped at the RV to check and as usual, had to deal with the trapped critter. As I flung it out, springing the trap open, the mouse landed on the hood of the car and slid down into the grass. Hubby laughingly asked if I was throwing dead mice at him and threatened to put it on Facebook. Life on the farm can cause amusement at times.