McILrath Family Homestead

Some Things Never Change

2009-11-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

On the 25th of May we moved to the homestead and I was three weeks into my new job at Highway Patrol. I spent five weeks, June and the first week of July in Jefferson City for training and was only able to come home on the weekend. We were never able to get more than spotty electricity due to our batteries having lost their charge over the previous winter, but the turbine and the three (of ten) solar panels we had set up make a lot of power -- we just weren't able to use it. We eventually were able to suspend the pump in the pond, but never could find a plumber to finish the inside work. So spent the whole summer without running water.

Several snakes moved into the pond this summer making bathing a brief and nervous process. We got some more plastering done, have less than a quarter of the exterior left to do. The inside hasn't seen a lick yet of course. Garden turned out well, we ate a lot of beets (quite tasty), cucumbers, tomatoes, okra and a few peppers. We harvested several rows of onions and now they're hidden somewhere in the stair closet; we can smell them, but we can't find them.

We moved into a town home (electricity! running water! Finished floors ! No Dust!) in St. Joseph on the 4th of September. Now I live 5 minutes from work instead of 90 minutes. Due to medication and thyroid problems I couldn't stay awake during the drive. It was one of the most agonizing times of my life. It is a miracle I didn't have a terrible car accident and die. Also, we finally faced the brutal truth that the house would not be liveable by winter. I miss the homestead. I miss how beautiful and quiet and interesting it was up there. I miss my dog and my cat, but I don't miss that awful drive or my gas bill.

"Another year older and deeper in debt . . . I owe my soul to the company store."

Baker Creek and Rocky Ridge

2009-05-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post I had an x-ray scheduled for the 30th of last month and I got the results last night on the answering machine. I am cancer free, as much as a person can be anyway, the "ablation" was successful and there was no disturbing "uptake". So, I don't know what that means, but the nurse said it was good.

Over the weekend my family drove South to Mansfield, Missouri and had a lovely time despite constant rain. The festival at Bakers Creek drew an impressive crowd, we had to wait 30 minutes to park, the line into the place was that long. The Apothecary was my favorite they had an impressive assortment of herbs and spices and at good prices. I got some peppermint leaf (2 oz for $1.45), raspberry leaf (4 oz for $2.20), cascara sagrada bark (2 oz for $2.20)and licorice root ($2.00). I also purchased some tea and green clay for facials. It was just a lot of fun and I'm really glad we went.

Just as enjoyable was visiting the Rocky Ridge Farm and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. We saw Pa's fiddle! I even heard it played on a video and I want to hear it played live at the annual festival they have. Laura's home was fascinating, it was really wonderful to be in her kitchen and see the things she had used every day.

There's a new edition of the Little House books with color illustrations, they're the same illustrations that have always been in the books, but now they are in color. Very exciting. Also, if you've never read her daughter's book, The Discovery of Freedom: Man's Struggle Against Authority by Rose Wilder Lane you absolutely must.

Excerpt from a Letter

2009-04-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've taken the radioactive iodine treatment and can mix and mingle again. Thursday morning I have scheduled a "full body scan" to detect if there is any cancer growth. Let's hope there isn't. This whole process has been chock full of little miracles, tender mercies: iodine from a January scan left my body at unheard of speedy rates allowing me to do the treatment in April before starting my new job instead of waiting for six months or more, my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels were very low (bad) and then went sky high (good) in a period of ten days, again allowing me to do the radia-iodine (I made up that word) treatment at the desired time with most effectiveness, the dates of my treatment will not interfere with my new job and "that was a miracle too." (ref to song from Fiddler on the roof).

Our wind turbine is up and spinning though not connected to batteries yet. That was a great day to see hope and faith turn into reality, "gosh it really works!" A wonderful new couple in our ward from Alaska have been the impetus in getting the wind turbine up. Jeremy was a drafter before he moved here and knows some about how things work, so he dug the four, four feet deep holes by hand, put in the anchors, did all the work, (us women helped some) and then with his truck lifted it upright while we held ropes and watched the guy lines and it never fell or anything. It is just absolutely a miracle and a blessing having the Oakes in our lives.

The drywall is about 3/4 taped and mudded (boy that's an interesting past tense verb). The move in date is sometime in May. It's just been a whirlwind of activity, my head is spinning just writing about it. I've got literally over 5,000 flower seeds to plant, at least a fifth of that or more in vegetables. I'm meeting with a plumber tomorrow to get an estimate. Sherri and I cleared 1,000 sq. ft of weeds (last summer they were so thick you risked being lost for days if you entered that jungle) on the west side of the house to plant other weeds, wildflowers that is.

Missouri had some medium serious flooding due to horrific thunder storms this weekend and unfortunately I had to drive in it to pick up my chicks in St. Joe because of a mix-up. Since I still shouldn't spend time with or touch babies or pregnant women I haven't held my chicks yet. Our friend Dianne from church is taking care of them (43 total) for us and we're splitting the fruits half and half, that by the way was the original arrangment, it doesn't have anything to do with my cancer.

Oh, and I start my new job on Friday, but I'm still going to get my two day getaway and my new job's insurance will cover my existing conditions, "that was a miracle too". This weekend my family is going on our first vacation in two years, "let's do something fun instead of always working on the house", to southern Missouri to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder's farm Rocky Ridge and also a spring festival a seed company called Bakers Creek (http://www.rareseeds.com/) holds each year with speakers, musicians, booths and of course lots of plants and seeds to sell.

Well, I'm going to use this letter for a post in my homestead blog as I've managed to cram a lot of information in here. Take care,

Sarah

Lifting the Turbine

2009-04-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 20th the wind turbine was installed. We still don't have power yet because we have to connect it to the batteries and the shed for the batteries isn't coming until May, but it's vertical and it's rotating. The wind was blowing 30-40 mph that day but we triumphed anyway. The wind turbine was still horizontal, but lifted just a few feet from the ground when we tested it, boy did it spin. I was standing only a few feet away when the wind just went to town and the blades were a blur. It was a bit unnerving to know that I could just reach my hand out and get rid of it if I wanted to.

Jeremy, our neighbor was the brains and the brawn of the operation and we assisted. It was one of those thrilling experiences where everyone is happy working together to accomplish something new (to us) with perfect fellowship. It is his child standing in the 4 foot deep hole he dug, by hand, he dug four in total. A link to a video of the tower being lifted into position is forthcoming.

Vegetables and Wind

2009-04-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

It's April and we still haven't quite left winter behind yet in North West Missouri. There are two things of interest to share about our progress in becoming self-sufficient. One, I've started seeds inside, under a grow light this year and though I managed to kill all my spinach and chard by putting them out too early every thing else is thriving (inside that is, mid-April is the soonest to set things out in this climate). Second and much more exciting! we've found someone to set up our wind turbine and help us connect power to our house.

April 16th will mark two years since we set up camp and began turning a raw, isolated and empty piece of land into home sustaining home. We've come a long way since then and though it has been challenging and exhausting now that we're beginning to see some of the fruits of our labours it is incredibly satisfying. The pride I feel in what we've accomplished with so little expertise, funds or even knowledge is a fantastic sensation. It is hard to believe that flawed and deficient ol' me is actually near to seeing something I've imagined actually exist in reality. If I can do it, ANYONE else certainly can and probably in less time with better results. I'm satisfied though. Incredibly satisfied.

Having the wind turbine up, or nearly so, means we are moving into our house sometime in May. Now, that is good news. There is A LOT to do to finish the house, but it's weather proof and if we don't have power and running water by the time we move in, we'll have it shortly afterwards. To be living in the country again, without the sound of young inebriated rascalls revving their engines and burning rubber, to see the sunrise and sunset, hear the birds, see the moon reflected in the pond, and observe the star spangled night sky will be a great relief after living in this fishbowl "downtown" with a population of less than a thousand that is entirely too densely populated.

Estimation of Needs as of August 2008

2008-12-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

This is a letter to Liz Quist President of the Mother House in response to her request for detailed information on the status of the Project.

Health: Early in October I go to have another ultrasound and see if my tumor is shrinking or growing.

HOUSE

Bale Stacking: 8-12 hours, including tying bamboo
Stapling paper and lathe: 1-3 hours
Kitchen Wall:
Insulation
Paper
Lathe Total: 5-7 hours

Stuccoing: Several Weeks, haven’t started yet, hope to begin plastering in September and be done with exterior scratch coat at the minimum by October 10 at the latest.

Wiring: Hiring out Cost: Doing bids this week, hope to have finished by end of Aug early early Sept.

Plumbing Hiring out Cost: Same

Drywall: Will do bathroom, laundry and pantry first, rest can happen after we move in and as money is available

Insulation: For roof and floor, will do after move in, probably next summer

Furnish: Kitchen, have to purchase, stove, sink and fridge, Mom’s co-worker has used she can buy, he does repairing of appliances on the side

Hot Water: Solar home made water heater, have the water heater, used one given to us by a plumber, need to build a simple plywood box, glass on top, paint black, lay heater horizontally in box with good southern exposure run pipe to tub and sinks. $80.00-100.00? Plus, a water pressure tank, a few hundred dollars I think.

Pump: Install pump in pond and connect to power source Cost: ?

Wind Turbine: need installer cost?

Battery House: Need to hire builder

Door Knobs: Can’t get door knobs installed, regular pain in my you know what!

Window: One window needs to be installed.

Stacking the bales was supposed to take a few weeks instead it has taken all spring and summer. We can’t devote time to the house because of our jobs, when we do go out to work, (three to four hours in the morning usually, all day Monday) one thing after another isn’t working, and it’s just an endless list of problems. Most likely we won’t be able to move in before winter this year. It is absolutely imperative though that we get that one coat of plaster on the exterior before the weather changes; we have to protect the bales from rain and snow. We can’t plaster until we have running water and electricity.

We have been praying and fasting as a family that a house between Albany and Allendale with three bedrooms, in the country with space for the pets, a weather-proof barn, a wood-burning stove, and that is pretty and clean will be available for rent unfurnished, but for fridge and kitchen stuff, for $400.00/mo or of course free would be ideal. I’d like to move in next month we’ve had enough of cramped living quarters, no room to cook a meal, no privacy doing laundry, no privacy period up and down a bunch of slippery stairs carrying groceries. I want to move into a place where I can live, and have a life again.

I want a wood-burning stove to save costs on fuel. I’m planning on living off our food storage this winter for the most part, so I can direct more funds to the house and other needs. Also, if we can move into a house that is unfurnished we can get our things out of storage and save $50.00 a month, plus have dishes, books, a multitude of things that you can’t think of until the situation arises, room to pay the bills and a space to organize paperwork and not be tripping over junk all the time.

So, these are our needs, realistically, it will probably be two years yet before we can move in to our house and have the lifestyle we want.

Sarah

House Log, November 08

2008-12-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

In November Nathan Johnson and his sister Debbie installed our drywall. The house feels completely different with the rooms enclosed. The light is different too, the house is brighter and once the bales are plastered on the inside there will be more light as well. Already our small home is a bright and cozy place even though there is more drywall to install as we are deadening the sound between rooms by filling the gaps with scrap wool, as we finish putting in wool more drywall goes up. It begins to look like a real house now.

Door Knobs

2008-12-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Many months ago I tried to install the door knobs on our front door, but hit some road blocks and had to give it up for the time being. So a while back Mother and I tackled the problem again, but again the strike plates were too big for the cut out areas and therefore weren't deep enough in the door to allow easy openening and closing. We consulted with different people and tried several things. Eventually, we got the knob and dead bolt installed, but it took a week. On the other hand the kitchen door was a snap and we had it done in just several minutes. Just one of those things where you can either laugh or loose your mind. We laughed, but I wouldn't testify to our complete sanity.

It is an immense pleasure to have a door that closes securely and cannot be blown open by the wind. It is also a pleasure to leave the house with a locked door instead of a bamboo pole with rope tied around it and the pre-made holes in the door and then jabbed into a straw bale to keep the door closed.

Plastering with Hydrated Lime

2008-12-01T13:58:00.001-08:00

In September and October of 2008 we began the plastering process. We didn't expect to be able to finish before the cold weather set in, but thought we would at least try and do the North wall as it is the most exposed. We were able, with the help of friends from church to almost comepletely plaster the North wall with the base coat.

We bought the 50 pound bags of hydrated lime from MFA in town, rented a mortar mixer for one week for $20.00 from a handy man in a near by town, and borrowed a generator to run it. First, Mother and I mixed lime with water and let it sit and ripen for a few days then we mixed in three times as much sand as lime, we added handfuls of chopped straw (we used regular kitchen scissors) to the mix once it was transferred to the wheelbarrow and then we put it on the walls. I find plastering one of the most enjoyable and meditative parts of house building.

We know that when you plaster you are supposed to start at the top and work your way down. As with many aspects of this project we have to adapt the rules to what we are capable of doing. It took some time to find scaffolding we could borrow so we started at the bottom. Even after we had the scaffolding, a lot of our helpers were unable or uncomfortable with heights and could only work at the bottom, so more plastering was done at the lower levels than the higher. A special thanks goes to Herb Petty who was so willing and helpful and did a lot of the high work with great skill.

We've had several freeze and thaws since the plaster went on and it appears to be enduring well. I love the look and feel of the plaster on the undulating straw bale walls and am satisfied with the decision to use lime plaster.

House Log Continued, August

2008-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wednesday August 27th, 2008: We finished building the straw bale walls for our house. Hooray!!!
It only took SIX MONTHS! None of us know what to make of it. It doesn't feel real. But here are some pictures to prove that we did do it:

Thursday, August 21, 2008
It's Electric
Earlier this week we hired some guys to do our electrical work. It is not finished yet and we still have to install the solar panels and wind turbine. Sarah and I finished stacking the bales in the spare room on Saturday. Sarah and Mom finished stacking the bales in the living room Wednesday. We just have to finish up the bathroom which will be simple, just some stuffing at the very top and then finish Mom's room. Goodness, the end is in sight. I don't trust it. The house feels very different with so much walling and wires everywhere.
Posted by Sherri Lynn at 8/21/2008 04:34:00 PM

House Log Continued, July

2008-12-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Monday, July 28, 2008

House Update
We recently borrowed some scaffolding form some people from Church. We can now put up tar paper and metal lathe with much more ease than when we did it solely by ladder. Still kind of scary, but better; higher. The West side is all done when it comes to tar paper and lathe, still needs a few bales and bamboo. Today Sarah and I started working on the South side, it is slow going, but what isn't with this house? The South side is a literal mud pit and so it is hard to work on the ground level, but fine up on the scaffolding. (Buster often joins us up on the scaffolding.)

Last week there was a lot of flooding and the field east of us (between us and the East fork of the Grand River) was covered in water, I missed it due to my cold, but Sarah took lots of pictures.

Except for the little bit of pond in this first picture, all the water you see is not supposed to be there, it is an alfalfa field. And those are our hay bales! Aren't they pretty!

House Log Continued, June

2008-12-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

June 14th, 2008

Oh dear, I didn't realize so much time had elapsed since I last updated this. Oops! Well we have quite the head way, which if you have been looking through my pictures you have seen. We have been building up walls. Today we finished a small section in the spare room and another small section in the utility room.

During the past few weeks we finished other sections in the spare room, bathroom (which is done!!!) and the closet. We still have quite a bit left to do though, of course. We have had quite the time trying to get metal lathe to put up around the outside to help keep our bales in place. Then there is the staple gun...I don't even know where to begin. Mostly because I was not present when it was first purchased. Mom and Sarah purchased two different brands to see which worked better and then we would return the other. Well, we discovered required electiral power so that was no good. The other one wouldn't staple, not a good thing in a staple gun. So we went to Maryville and returned them and got a new one. It worked for a little bit, then got jammed. So we went to St. Joe to try our luck there. We got one, but when we got home we couldn't get the staple chamber open. So no good. So Mom ordered one online and we forgot to take it out to the property today, so we don't know much about it yet. We foolishly hope for the best. Working on the homestead has become great fun now that we have two kittens out there (did I mention yet that we got Buster a little companion whom we named Khova? Pictures forthcoming... SO CUTE!!!)

Today we also pulled little green worms with horns on their heads off of our tomato plants. It was fun Buster ate a few and we killed the rest. I love the homestead and can not wait till we can move out there. Life will be great. We will be able to have complete privacy, kittens to attend us, beauty around us, sun shining, trees to view, and our lives to live as we please. I am really not liking apartment life anymore. Give me the Homestead!!

House Log Summer 07 -- Spring 08

2008-12-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House
(This is from Sherri's blog, entries begin summer of 2007.)

I've decided to keep a record of the progress of our straw bale house. Over the Summer this is some of what we've done.

We (Sarah, Mom, and I) laid drain pipe in the foundation trench (sounds easy, but it was hot, labor intensive work that took a couple of days) then we shoveled gravel into the trench which is about three feet deep, 20 some inches wide and makes up the perimeter of the house. This was the most terrible thing ever (worse then building a cob wall in the heat). We did three sides, but by the time that was done it was time to go back to Albuquerque to load up the U-haul and officially move to Missouri, so people from church helped out and finished the job. Thank goodness!

Then the foundation was poured, a stem wall 18" high of extra heavy concrete. Then what felt like an eternity passed and our carpenter finally got started on framing the floor. (This framing began middle of last week.)

Today Sarah and I began filling garbage bags with scrap sheep's wool. This is for insulation underneath part of the floor boards. It's fairly fun, but slow, like everything that happens with this house. We got four very large bags of wool for free from a local factory here that makes wool dusters. (So handy for us!) We fill the bags around half full and then try to squeeze out most if not all the air. Due to high wind (as usual, can't wait to start harvesting that with our wind mill) we filled the bags in our newly built carport. Once we had a goodly number of bags filled we would walk the few yards to to the house site and put the bags on top of the foundation between boards that will eventually support the floor.

Also today our windows were delivered! Sarah and I helped the delivery guy unload them, some were around 300 lbs, but most of the boxes were light. Sarah and I have also overseen the delivery of our batteries for our power system and parts of our wind-turbine (I like to call it our windmill, feels more Dutch).

Sept. 27th
Much progress has been made on the house lately. All the window bucks have been put in place. The kitchen wall (the North East corner) has been framed. This is the only part of the exterior wall that will not be insulated with straw bales. This was done to give more space to the kitchen. Friday we went to St. Joseph and ordered our bathtub. Most exciting. So that should arrive soon and will be placed in the bathroom before the straw bales go up.

Oct. 1st
The Roof Trusses have been put into place! This was finished on Friday afternoon. Now we can see our roof as we crest the western hill and come out of the woods on our road. It is so exciting! On Saturday we had our straw bales delivered. An Amish man and his many sons picked them up and then delivered them to us. They did this with the help of their driver and his trailer, because they of course do not drive. Anyway we three watched them stack our bales in our carport. Sarah and I were afraid that there wouldn't be enough room for all 360 bales, but they all just fit inside. Thank goodness because if they had to sit outside they would be harder to keep dry and would then start to rot, and you can't build a sturdy house with rotten straw bales. So that is where we are as of now.

October 29th, 2007
Not a lot has happened this month due to rain and our construction guy working on his own place. But over the month some things did get done. Holes were dug at six feet intervals around the entire perimeter of the house where the porch will end (our porch will be a wrap around). Those holes were then filled with concrete and posts set on them that attach to the roof for support.(The porch will have roof cover all around.) Inside, all the interior walls have been framed so now we have a good idea of the space inside. Also, our bathtub is now in the bathroom, which is quite spacious.

When we went to the property on Saturday I was pleasantly surprised with a drive-way! I hadn't realized we were getting it so soon, I knew we had the pipe to go in the ditch for drainage, but I didn't know we had ordered gravel and all that. It looks so nice, so final. I can't wait to plant trees and flowers on either side. We should be getting the tin roof put on in the next few weeks and then the windows and doors...I can't wait till all is done and we can move in, I don't like living on the square in town.

November 10th
The roof is well underway! The wooden layer has been laid and is now covered with the black tar paper. By end of next week the tin/metal should be in place! So the house is making progress, however slowly.

Every time we go to the property lately there are ducks on our pond! Usually 3 or four.

November 15
We have gutters! Mother and I drove out to the property this morning. We were just going to drive by and not stop when I noticed something green along the edge of the roof. The sun was shinning brightly making it difficult to make it out so we drove up our driveway (!!) and got out and investigated. They had the green gutters on and some of the white steel that goes on the "ceiling" of the porch.
So, the roof is being put on! Who knew you would start a roof from the gutters and work from there? Once the roof is done we can stack straw bales (ahhh!) I can't wait!

December 9th 2007
Roof done, windows and doors in. Glad that part is over. Cold (15 degrees outside) and snowy, not a lot will happen now till spring. Happy I wont have to live through winter for the next few years, seeing as how I will most likely be going to school in Hawai'i!

Friday March 7th 2008
On Saturday March 1st Sarah and I went out to the homestead to do some work. It was a lovely day with temperatures up in to the low 60s! (Don't get your hopes up, by Sunday we had more snow, north winds and freezing temperatures.) Sarah and I spent several hours during the afternoon there moving bales and sweeping snow out of the house and exploring the frozen pond.

We already had some bales in the house (master-bedroom and kitchen). These were stacked in corners (not along the walls). So Sarah and I took the ones in Mom's bedroom and hauled them across the hall into the second or north/west bedroom. There we began to place bales in experimental ways and places to see what worked best. We placed one row of bales in the north wall from the NW corner to the N window. A space about 6 feet long. We were only placing and seeing how things looked and worked, what we placed is not permanent, as we still need to notch/re-size many bales. Notching is cutting out a corner or cutting a gap in part of the bale so the bale will fit nicely around a post/beam that goes from floor to ceiling. So we looked and discussed where we should notch and re-size the bales (cutting off and retying the whole bale, not just a small portion like in notching). Then we placed a second row to see how that would need to have notching and resizing done. You lay straw bales like bricks, with on brick laying over where two bricks meet below it.

Then I drew a diagram of how it looks for future reference while Sarah moved more bales into the bedroom. I really enjoyed drawing this diagram. Then Sarah and I did some calculations (which was the hardest work we did, neither of us being the very number savvy). Then we rigged up the bales until we had as many as we could get until we came to the rafter/ceiling/window buck boards.

Before we began laying the bales out though we swept out all the snow that had blown into the house and then we banged at the ice that had frozen to the floor until it broke into wee chunks that we could shovel out. Then we scattered straw bits on the floor where it was still damp to help soak up the moisture and dry out the floor in order to prevent warping.

After we were done with our work we went to check out the pond which has been frozen most of this winter. We walked on part of it earlier this winter and on Saturday it was still frozen but with a layer of slushiness on top. We braved it and walked out over some of the deepest parts of the pond. Such a thrill! I love that pond. Well, that's all for now.

Wednesday March 19, 2008
Today all three of us went out to homestead and worked on the living room walls. Over the past few weeks we have purchased a saw which we have trouble starting, but that should get worked out soon. Last week we placed our first permanent bale in the Northwest bedroom. However, we have not gotten any further there as we ran into some problems. Instead we began concentrating on the the living room walls. Today we successfully retied many bales. I proved to be the best at this; I am faster and tie tighter, and get the string tied correctly almost always on my first try! We were there for several hours and it was just lovely. The pond is thawing out and the ice that still covers most of the pond is a brilliant blue color, especially when the sun hits it just right. Today we saw a muskrat swimming on the edge of the pond where there is no ice, our first muskrat of the year. That is all for today.

Thursday March 20th, 2008
Today Sarah and I went to the homestead. There we completed one section of the Southern living room wall. Then we worked some on the North wall of the bathroom until a few road blocks popped up. Then we went onto build up the long Southern wall in Mother's room. All this work leaves me very tired when I get home, I can barely keep my eyes open! The pond is quickly thawing (today's temperature reached 61 degrees). Almost the whole east end of the pond had thawed out by the time we left. It is so beautiful, co clear!

Thursday May 8th
Bad weather has put a hold on our house building for the month of April. But this past week we were able to get some work done. We built up the living room walls on Monday with Mom and then on Tuesday Sarah and I went out and did some work on the bathroom walls. Now all that is left is the area around the window in that room. We are having trouble with the South wall in Mom's bedroom. It keeps falling over in the wind. That's not quite what we want from our wall, so we are working on some different ideas to correct that. Our kitten that we got near the end of April has proven his worth by catching four (possibly five) baby mice that were living in the future kitchen in some piles of loose straw. Little devils. It was fascinating watching him catch and kill them. He ate them whole! I had no idea cats did that. It was really awesome. A little sad too because we could hear the baby mice squeaking while being tortured. But I don't want mice in my house, so they had to go.
Posted by Sherri Lynn at 5/08/2008 11:01:00 AM