The Trapping of the Shrew

Not by William Shakespeare.  Not a comedy.

shrew
: a small animal that looks like a mouse with a long, pointed nose
: an unpleasant, bad-tempered woman

So, it turns out it was not a mouse, but a common shrew.  The most common mammal in Northern Europe.

What else do I know about shrews now?

The common shrew breeding season peaks during the summer months. A female gives birth to a litter of five to seven baby shrews. A female usually rears two to four litters each year.

Caaal-cu-la-ting . . . thaaat's somewhere between 10 and 28 shrewlets annually.  Plus mama and papa shrew. 

Well, not wanting to be the bad-tempered Shakespearean Kate type of shrew, we captured (not killed!) the "small animal that looks like a mouse with a long, pointed nose" type of shrew.

You're welcome, Melissa :)

And not just one . . . so far we've nabbed 4, yes 4 of them and we know there are more because we can hear them scratching around.  Eck!  

Anyway, we've taken all of them to one of our favorite abandoned houses.

It's close by, but not too close by.  No reason to give it a chance of finding its way home, but it is right next to the field of dreams for shrews-previously-thought-to-be-mice.

Humane traps are now reset.  Only somewhere between 11 and 29 more adorable shrews to go.  This year.

Belgen in Amerika

This full page spread was in our local newspaper recently.  It's an article about a Belgian family who moved from the town of Hoeselt (about 15 min. south of where we live) to the Houston suburb of Kingswood, Texas.

Since their situation is similar to ours, I was curious what they thought of living in America.  I found the questions very interesting and the answers even more interesting.  I think you may too.

The guy, Patrick, is a 47 year old petroleum engineer working for Chevron-Phillips. He's worked for them for 25 years and leads a team of 45 engineers.  His wife, Ann, is not working in the States and they have two daughters, Anke (age 15) and Lize (age 16).  They have been in Texas about 2 years.

What differences do you find in the workplace?

- there is a greater safety awareness than in Belgium
- most employees work more than 40 hours per week and have less vacation
- I work about 13 hours per day at my job
- a person must speak good English to get a job in Texas
- taxes are half that of Belgium
- Americans find it normal to pay for their own health insurance; if they get cancer and are uninsured, they are out of luck
- employees have respect for each other and there is much less racism in Texas than in Belgium

Note: He goes on to say that the racism in Belgium may be because of the language.  Despite there being a large Spanish speaking population, everyone speaks English in Texas.  In Belgium, there are many languages spoken and actually three official languages here.  Although racism can be against any race, the term is used broadly in Europe.  Even if a person is European, but comes from another country, there may be discrimination.


What should I know about Texas?

- they sell guns in the supermarket
- it is normal to drive on the highway in the left lane
- you may ride with sandals and without a helmet on a motorcycle


What keeps Texans busy?

- American football, basketball and baseball
- they eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner


What can you not do as a Belgian in Texas?

- say our football is more important than American football


Is living in Texas more expensive?

- most things are cheaper; autos are 30 percent cheaper, also food, clothes and electronics
- water and internet are higher
- university costs $25,000 per year

Note: Our water bill here in Belgium is about $100 a  month and that seems high to me.  It wasn't that high in the States. Perhaps water is more costly now - we have been gone for a while!


What do Texans associate with Belgium?

- beer and chocolate


What are typical Texas expressions?

- howdy and y'all


What is a typical dish?

- Tex Mex; they eat lots of enchiladas or rolled tortillas with beef


How religious are Texans?

- almost everyone goes to church - in Kingswood alone there are perhaps 15 different types of protestant churches
- the whole social life revolves around those churches
- they also go on Wednesdays; some of our neighbors go to bible study


What annoys you in Texas?

- the tv programs have big chunks of time for advertising - even the news and weather


What annoys you about Texans?

- they are outspoken democrat or republican - it is very black and white; a republican is against Obama
- it strikes me that almost every working white is Republican


How much do you earn?

- enough for a good life; I am dismayed by the difference in salaries - a young worker at McDonald's earns $15,000 per year gross and an engineer earns $85,000 - a difference of factor 6.  In Belgium it is but 1.5 times more.


How are your daughters doing in school?

- they find it very pleasant
- I have the impression they have to study a little less
- the school pays much attention to skills
- students are encouraged to organize something or to do a presentation
- before and after school there are also sports activities; Anke runs in the morning before school and Lize plays tennis for one hour every day after school
- they also speak with a better American accent than I!


Patrick's wife, Ann . . .

- a few times a week I ride bikes and play golf with six ladies
- taking a career break, but enjoys a busy social life and enjoys the nature
- we live right by a forest with deer and foxes
- in our garden we have armadillos and raccoons, also hummingbirds
- only for the snakes you have to watch out!

Note:  Although no one has asked us for an interview . . . next up, our answers to similar questions :)

Completely Random Photos

I just like this picture I took of Jim while we were out having coffee.

I took this picture while we were at a cafe in Brugge to send to Frazier and Norma Grace.  I had no idea I had both pairs of glasses on until Jim told me later when he was looking through my pictures :-/

Left to right is Amy, Jeff, Esther, Ross, Jim, and Chance.  These are some American friends of Ross's who just happened to be in Belgium and came to our house for a July 4th BBQ.  They are all couch-surfing through Europe and Asia which means they stay at various homes along the way for free.  Brave souls they are.  Each of them carried only one backpack for the 6 month journey!  They said they've had a strange experience or two as a couch-surfer, but never a really bad one.  We enjoyed having them take our couch for a day or two.

There's about a mile of these blackberry bushes along a trail where I walk Winslow.

The sunflowers are back again this year!

Jim's 54th birthday!  Jim, Ross, Jeff and Esther

When I was selecting photos for this post, I accidentally clicked on this one and decided to include it too!  These are the children of our good friends Emilie and David from France.  That's Maïeul and Adélie.

When I go walking, I often see this couple . . . always holding hands.

We haven't seen as many rainbows this year, but this was a good one!

Norma Grace taking a picture of us and Winslow.  Or maybe just of Winslow.  She really loves Winslow :)

Randi sends photos from time to time . . .

Adorable, right?

Rommelmarkt

For the past few weekends, Jim and I and sometimes Ross and sometimes Winslow, have hit a few of the flea markets throughout Belgium.

Some, like this one in Waterloo, are every Sunday morning.

There's something for everyone.

It's impossible to see it all.

This is a really old map of Belgium on fabric.

Sometimes it takes a little digging, but you never know what you might find.

I took this photo at a house near one of the neighborhood rommelmarkts.  Belgians are amazing shrub sculptors.

At that same neighborhood garage sale, these owls were on display.

They don't even look real, but they are!

Just a little sampling of some of my bargains.

And these chairs!

In Belgium, single garage sales aren't allowed (which, by the way, should be international law) so in the summer, neighborhoods get together and on one designated date, everyone in the neighborhood brings theirs wares out to the street.

They usually have a little cafe set up somewhere and often have music too.  I think it's a fantastic idea.  One garage sale per year per neighborhood.  That's it.  Done.

A Mouse in the House

Not by Dr. Seuss.

You may remember we've had a small house guest from time to time.  

Here he is having a big time on the patio - that's him just to the left of the sprayer on the hose.  

Adorable, right?

I couldn't agree more . . . as long as he stays OUTSIDE!

Not in a house. Not with a mouse.

Well, last week (and probably whenever he feels like it) he ran out from under the kitchen cabinet while I was washing dishes.  That's right.  Barely two feet away from my two bare feet.

At that point, war was declared.

BUT, since he is so adorable . . . we went to 4 different stores to find these little traps that only detain the mouse so someone (not me) can take him to a friendly field far away to live happily ever after.  Amen.

After all, this could be Algernon, Ralph or Stuart Little!  I get it.

So we set up these 2 traps (costing $8.50 each!) with dried sausage - one outside and one inside.

The next morning I hear Winslow's food being moved around.  I see that Winslow is outside and immediately realize it's not Winslow.  Genius that I am.

I get out my camera and wait - not long - and here he comes - back for more.  There he is, retrieving things bigger than his head.

Keep in mind . . . I'm sitting in THIS chair only 2 feet away and I figure - well, at least we know what he likes now.

So I reset the trap with dog food and wait . . .

 

The next morning, the food is gone and apparently this clever little critter has backed out the same way he came in - leaving a couple of poops behind as a souvenir.  Grrrrr.

At the time we bought those $8.50 humane traps, we also bought these - just in case.  And now you know how to say mousetrap in 5 other languages.  Bonus.

I'm leaving these muizenvallen out, unarmed at first, and since this adorable little house mouse is so smart, he will have fair warning of what's coming.  

I probably should leave a note as well . . .