Something's Knocking

Okay. Last night, Anita went out with her friends and I stayed here with the boys and after I put them to bed, I came through the living room and could SWEAR I heard scratching coming from over near the toybox/window area. I stopped and listened, then went and walked over there and stomped on the floor and sure enough. I could hear scratching. Well, Anita, for several days has been pestering me that "something is under our house". She's been complaining about the cats running around crazy and looking in the vents and stuff. Morpheus has been sitting for hours by the vent in our bedroom, but I figure, hey, he's a cat. They're odd anyway. You know?

So, hearing the scratching confirmed it for me. I finally agreed with her and told her I believed there was probably a mouse running around down there somewhere and he's probably scratching on the floor boards and getting up under the insulation somewhere.

Tonight, I get home from church about 7:30 and Conner is running around the house in his rain boots and carrying a flashlight. Anita is on the phone in the kitchen and Conner is just running back and forth saying something about "something's knocking outside". I started talking to Anita when she got off the phone and the whole time, Conner just keeps running back and forth in the living room and kitchen and he finally comes over to us and gets my attention and says, "Something is knocking out there." Anita, obviously having heard this for awhile finally looked at me and said, "You have your shoes on still - just take him outside and look around to calm him down."

I agree to comply and Conner and I take off outside. He with a flashlight and rain boots and I with a grin on my face. We walk around the house and stand out back by the window where he said he heard the knocking. There, of course is nothing out there and I say, "Okay bud. Nothing here." He's shining his flashlight around seeing some stick and stuff on the ground, he kicks some and says, "Maybe it was these." I decide to go over near the window and look around and Conner comes over and sweeps his light by to look at the stuff on the ground by me. I ask him to borrow it, and I sweep it around and then run it over the vent that goes to the crawl space. As I do so, something glows. I pause, move the light back slowly and I see what it is that's glowing. A pair of eyes looking out at me.

HELLO! HOLD THE PHONE! THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE!

I nearly jumped out of my skin. But, of course I kept the whole super cool "daddy" composure and just sort of took a step back and pulled Conner back with me. I then bend down and shine the light directly in the vent and there looking back at me is a GIANT FREAKING OPOSSUM! This thing is sitting on the little ledge inside the vent and is crammed inside there. He was probably a 15 lb sucker. He didn't do anything. Just stare at me. He was probably hungry, I'm sure scared, and maybe tired.

One of our vents in the front of our house has been off for awhile. AGAIN. It keeps falling (now I suspect, it hasn't been falling at all) off. Well, last Thursday I went to get the mail and took the time to close the vent up really good, tighten the screws, and put a giant rock against it (it is really low to the ground under our front stoop) to keep it in place. So, I'm guessing that was the last time Mr. Rat-Looking-Marsupial saw the light of day (or night, since they are nocturnal).

I went and uncovered the vent tonight and I hope it leaves. Of course, he'll probably leave and then come back. grrrrrrrrr.. stupid animals.