Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Trap

So we have this animal that knocks over our trash. Every night. My neighbor says it's a possum, but I think it might be a raccoon. Or possibly a teenager. They cut through our yard all the time. Anyway, it's annoying. Super annoying. I mean, there's only one thing worse than taking the trash out in the first place, and that's having to pick it up off your driveway in pieces. Ugh. Gross. Flies. Maggots. Sickening.

Anyway, it's annoying. Every morning when we go outside the kids will shriek and yell and we'll be running to late to stop and pick it up then, so I'll shout at them, telling them not to touch a single thing and go straight to the car. Straight to the car! Do not pass go!

The other day, the kids were playing outside in our cul-de-sac of sorts...we have a little commons or something in the middle of it, and the kids like to sit and play in the dirt there. I don't know why. I think it's gross. But I still let them do it, because I am a little bit of a lazy parent, and I'd rather just stand outside and watch them than find them something else to do. Plus, I tell myself it's helping them build immunities. Immunities! Isn't that the excuse for letting your kid do anything that could be germ infested! It might seem like I'm setting my child up to get some scary sounding disease, but really I am exposing them to these germs so that in the long run they'll be more healthy. Yes. That's it.

Anyway, they also ride their bikes and scooters up and down the driveways and on this particular day, just as I was about to call my very dirty oldest children in for a bath before dinner, our neighbor graciously blasted with the hose instead, clothes and all, even producing shampoo for their hair so I could feel completely guilt free about skipping bath night. Ava's hair is looking remarkable shiny, so I'll have to ask him what he shampoo he used.

When we came inside, Jace was lollygagging behind like he likes to do. I couldn't see him from the front door, but I heard him yell "Just a sec!" over and over. When he finally came in, he told me triumphantly that he'd built a trap for the animal that knocks our trash over, and that we didn't have to worry about it anymore. What a little man. Here is the trap he built.


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It's placed in front of the trash can...kind of far away, but maybe that's to lure the animal in? Not sure. It consists of a Dora Bike, a plastic motorcycle, a skateboard, an empty carton of milk, and a bottle of water, all perched precariously on top of one another. My guess is that it's supposed to collapse and trap the animal when they get to close, but I'm unsure. It might be that it is just supposed to look scary to them. He didn't fill me in on the details, and I was so impressed by the architecture that I didn't think to ask.

I can't wait to see if it works. I am sick and tired of our trash getting knocked over! Hopefully if it works the kids won't mind giving up their toys, because I can't let them disassemble The Trap if it's keeping the animals away. It's just too valuable.
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