Three-part Gloom and Doom :(

Yesterday morning when I was outside washing windows, cleaning the "city water" spout and it's plug that was leaking, and some other little chores, I noticed this at the rear of the rig:

That doesn't look good, right?  I noticed the fittings were pulling out and the material used to finish off the end was coming out.  I can't imagine how that happened, unless it was just normal weathering.  So, I cleaned up the area and got out my trusty silicone tube and pressed the pieces in as much as I could, and plugged all the openings so it's water tight again.  Judging from the last time I used silicone to plug an opening, it will probably only last a year, but it should get us through the winter, and I'll keep my eye on it.  (The same area on the right in this photo was losing it's "stuff" too, so I gooped it up with silicone before it gets bad.  Then I checked around the outside of the rig for any other bad spots, but these two were the only ones.)

Katie has been pretty vigilant about critters in The Palms.  She has woken me up very early every morning since we've been here at El Malpais with her "I hear a mouse" stance, pointing her nose right at the cab of the truck.  She also turns her head to look along the couch and back into the kitchen.  Every morning I check under the seats, and the snap-traps and sticky-traps are still there, empty, so I thought the critters were running around under the engine, and then running along the gravel under the couch side of the rig. 

Finally this morning, after Katie was so insistent that something was up there, I opened the hood of the truck, and lo and behold:

Whoa!  Big foot prints, nothing like the other tiny mouse tracks.  I got the Fresh Cab packets back out - I put them in the engine compartment at Bluewater, but removed them when I was driving and hadn't put them back.  Well...  this morning they went back, plus two new ones.

When I was fiddling around placing the packets, I heard noises coming from the back of the engine, around where the gas/brake pedals are - that corner of the engine compartment.  I went back and got a little white sticky trap and placed that on top of the battery.  Then I closed the hood and went inside. 

Katie was being insistent again, so I raised the hood again, and in just a matter of minutes, here were some foot prints on the sticky trap, but no animal.  I don't know how he walked over this glue-trap and wasn't stuck.  (The brown stains were there already, only the tracks are new.)  These were tiny prints:



I checked all over the place inside The Palms and there are no signs of rodents, none getting caught in traps, no poops, and no nests, so I'm thinking they were in the engine only, and then jumped down and ran under the motor home on the ground, and that's what Katie heard.  So far (fingers crossed) we haven't had any critters inside since I plugged the last two holes in the cab area.

I also got out my little solar lights and lined them up in the sun.  Tonight I'll place them around the tires and under the engine to see if the light will keep out the critters.  Oh, well.  We'll see what happens tonight.  I hope all is quiet.

I wonder if anyone else in the campground is having the same problem with critters. I'm the only one with a pet, though, so I guess if I didn't have Katie, I wouldn't have known something was in there.  I think I'll let them know they might want to check for foot prints in their engines.

My friend, Hazel - with the two Greyhounds -  let me know that her female dog was attacked by another Greyhound on Thursday.  She was visiting a friend and fellow camper, they were outside at the picnic table saying hello.  Her two dogs were on their leashes, and the other Greyhound was also on a leash. All the dogs were calm and friendly and the owners were right there, when suddenly the other dog went for Fleur's neck and caused quite a bit of damage.  Hazel took Fleur to the Vet in Grants, where Fleur had surgery on her neck and spent the night.  When Hazel picked her up yesterday morning, Fleur was all wrapped up around the wound with a drain to help with fluids.

Poor Sweet Fleur.  And poor Hazel, too.  That must have been such a scary experience for everyone concerned.  They go back to the Vet in two weeks to have the bandages, drain and wrappings removed and the stitches/or/staples taken out.  Hazel,  I hope Fleur is feeling better today and will have a speedy and complete recovery.  I'm thinking about you guys.  See Hazel's post with photos of Fleur here.

Boy, so far this post is really Gloom and Doom, isn't it?  The Palms exterior coming loose, big critters in the engine, Fleur being attacked. Does it help if I tell you that as I'm writing this I'm periodically glancing out the front windshield where a Black-chinned female hummingbird is coming and going, buzzing around, guarding the feeder?  :)

Let's lighten things up:

Here's my 4-year-old Grandson after a Padre's Game in San Diego.  (Thanks Trish, I copied this from your Facebook page. So cute!  I hope you don't mind.)

Do you get the idea that he likes the hot dog more than the bun?

And finally, below is a sign I shamelessly copied from a site full of these signs with funny sayings.  This is originally from TASTE OF AWESOME.COM.  How well do you follow directions?
 

I usually follow directions pretty well - but I have to admit I failed this one.  I agree - damn misleading arrow!

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)