9/11-13/12 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way, I visited with Claude McVey. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 1:30. There was one dead mouse in the loft trap, and the trap on the 1st floor was sprung but no mouse in it. The bait was gone. There was no other sign of mouse mischief or damage in the cabin.

It wasn't clear whether there was a wounded or dead mouse somewhere, or whether it was a clean getaway. I might figure it out some day. It also wasn't clear whether this mouse was in the cavity between Grid A and C when I sealed it up last week or whether he came in from the outside somewhere else. I might figure that out some day too.

After lunch and a nap, I went back down to the truck and carried up a supply of caulk and rebar. The rebar will be used to make a scaffold system for the Grid A eaves which I will do next.

I went to work on the ceiling boards and nailed up five courses between Grid C and D before it got too dark to work. I had brought some new mouse traps with me so I set five traps before I went to bed.

It was wonderfully quiet that night. A couple times I heard rodents scurrying across the screen in the old cavity that they had occupied, but I didn't hear any sounds that indicated that mice were inside the cabin. That was a relief.

On Wednesday morning, I was relieved to find no mice in the new traps. Maybe I won another skirmish in the rodent wars.

After breakfast I went into the woods and watered the giant sequoia trees. Then I went back to work on the ceilings and finished closing up the space between Grid C and D. During the work, a couple of gray jays visited me on the scaffolding. One of them took peanuts from my hand several times, but the other one was too timid and never did get the courage up to land on my hand. It was good to see them again. It's pretty clear that I have to be working outside in order for them to visit me on a regular basis.

After lunch and a nap, I went back to work on the ceilings. I got about half of the space between Grid D and E done and then ran out of stained boards. I stained two more 16 foot boards before I quit for the night.

After thinking about the mouse situation, my guess is that the mouse I caught last, and his buddy that got away, if there was one, were sealed in the cavity between Grid A and C when I left last week. The hole they used to get into the cabin was probably also in that stretch. So these mice (or mouse) came in through that hole, and since access to the cavity was now closed off to the outside, no more mice can come in. If this is correct, it means that the cabin is now sealed off to the outside and I should have no more mice inside the cabin. And, if that is correct, it is a great relief.

Up to now, I have been pretty discouraged. I felt I had to install the ceiling boards all the way around the building as quickly as possible taking no time to do anything else. Or, if I did anything else, I felt bad about delaying the ceiling project. As a result projects like cleaning up the mouse mess inside the cabin had been ignored. I felt that the mice would only mess it up again and the effort would be wasted. I have also neglected the project of harvesting firewood for the winter. Winter is bearing down on me now so the urgency of that project is growing.

Another project I have put off is buying and delivering the flooring material for the loft and the bedroom. I would really like to have that on hand so I can install those floors over the winter. I will only be able to get my truck up to the porch between now and the first significant snowfall.

Now, with a plausible understanding of the mouse situation, I feel that there is more flexibility in my priorities now so I can spend some time on those other projects. It feels good.

During the night, at about 2 AM, I heard some mouse activity out in the screened cavity so I got up and checked the trap I had set in the Grid E1 corner of the loft. There was a mouse carcass in the trap. But the carcass was very stiff, and that meant that it probably was not trapped this night, but was probably caught the night before. I couldn't remember whether or not I had checked this particular trap before, but my guess is that I did not. So I fit this mouse into my same theory and figured it was the second mouse from the day before, or maybe even a third mouse. At any rate, I hope my theory is correct. The truth will be told next week when I return and check the five traps.

On Thursday morning I was greeted by Bert and Ernie who came up onto the front porch for a couple rounds of hugs and biscuits. It was good to see them.

I went to work on the ceiling and finished the stretch between Grid D and E. That was another milestone. The entire Grid 1 gable eave ceiling is now finished, except for a little more caulking. That means that fully half of the perimeter of the cabin is sealed off at the eaves. Next week I can finish the caulking and start dismantling the scaffolding. I put away the tools and swept up the front porch feeling a great sense of accomplishment. This, of course, is relative to my slow rate of progress. I left for home at 1:30.