We've been living in our new home on the river for almost a year now. There have been some surprises, of course--many good, some not so good. The not-so-good seems to have often included animal encounters.
Our initial encounter with a marmot occurred last spring, only weeks after we had moved into this ground level suite on our son's property. I had left our front door open for fresh air on a lovely day and suddenly our little chihuahua Enzo started barking loudly, chasing after a blur of a rodent which had entered our home! I freaked and ran upstairs to call for reinforcements. I knew I wasn't going to tackle this creature, and neither was Enzo. They were about the same size! By the time family and their visiting friends came down to see what the fuss was about, the animal must have left from whence it had come. No sign. Dog was quiet. Phew! From then on, I NEVER left our door propped open! We'll be getting a screen door installed this spring.
Anyway, as I left my client's house, I noticed a small animal the size of a rabbit or cat running from a grassy, rocky area towards my car! "Look, a rabbit!" I pointed.
My coworker asked if I was sure, because she didn't see it, and it's not that common to see rabbits running wildly around here, although there probably are some. When I checked under my car, there was nothing. Poof! It was gone. But I was certain I had seen some sort of critter. I didn't think about it again.
Fast forward two weeks. My husband told me that we had some error lights come on in our car. He lifted the hood and checked, and sure enough, some wires had been chewed. "Mice have been in our engine area", he said. He repaired the wiring (thankfully no serious damage) and we didn't think much of it. After all, in our Canadian winter, mice sometimes do look for places to stay warm, and our car was very available, always parked outside.
The next day, we discovered a marmot perched on a rock near our car. It chirped quite loudly, and as soon as we stepped outside, it scurried away, who knows where?
Two days ago, Dave took our car in to get the windshield replaced. It was there that the culprit was discovered. As the technicians opened up the hood, a marmot's head popped up from behind the engine, surprising the daylights out of them. The little beast has been living in our car! They aimed the hose and sprayed the little guy, banged on the car, under the car, to no avail. The thing would not budge. It was huddled in a safe little corner under the engine.
Dave returned home and told me about it. I felt slightly freaked out, thinking I may have been driving around town with a marmot under the hood for who knows how long? Could it have been weeks? I could hardly believe it. And how would we succeed in evicting it?
Our grandchildren were very excited about the whole adventure and decided to name the rodent Marmie. They helped out Opa by banging broomsticks under the car and spraying peppermint infused water (that was MY idea -- ya gotta try!) under the hood. Every once in a while the creature would chirp loudly.
Later, from their vantage point on the deck above our suite, the grandchildren saw it perch near the car when no one was outside. We set out a trap yesterday, with some tasty apple slices, but no captured critter this morning.
This morning I headed back to my client's home, parking in the usual spot. I told my coworker about the squatter in my car engine. She had parked right beside me and mentioned that she hoped it wouldn't climb into HER engine.
"Oh no, I don't think so!", I said, reassuringly. "This little guy knows his home and he always stays close by."
Sure enough, in less than half an hour, I heard chirping from outside an open window, peeked out, and there was Marmie royally perched on my Honda Civic front tire. I'm pretty sure he was looking right at me and daring me to come out.
I left for home before my coworker did. There was a message from her on my phone, a photo of my coworker's SUV. Bad news for her, good news for me.
Apparently, Marmie had chosen to fly the coop after checking out other options, and go for swankier digs. So far, it hasn't been seen or heard from it, but I know it's a sneaky fella. We are both hoping there will be no problems and this little marmot is back in between the rocks and grass, where it belongs!
I am very relieved that we don't have to worry about further damage to our car anymore. However, I'm still a little nervous about parking it in front of our home.
What are the chances Marmie has family nearby?
and.... what other animal adventures are in store for me this spring?
