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| The culprits |
I have a very generous and kind brother. This generosity is not just reserved for the month of December. He is always giving. I think he learned it from my mom. But, I digress....
One of the gifts I received from him this Christmas was kind of a family tradition - pistachio nuts - five pounds of them (yes, 5 pounds!). You know, those little nuts that are greenish in color ... with the shell that is split open a bit so you can open it with your fingers instead of using a nut cracker? They were in a plastic bag that was tucked nicely into large shoe box.
Today, I spent an hour trying to fish them out of my piano! I sat down this afternoon to play, and something didn't sound right. I know I'm overdue for a tuning, but this was different. So, I decided to investigate. I removed all the knickknacks from the top of the instrument and propped open the lid. Peering down with a flashlight, I saw the problem, and it didn't take me long to call my dear brother:
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| Fishing for Nuts |
"I have pistachios in my piano!!!" (I also had a mouse trap in the basement, with the peanut butter bait licked clean away, and the trap unsprung.)
I had seen this little guy out of the corner of my eye a day or two ago ... in the living room ... where the piano is. Strange ... usually when a mouse sneaks in he "enjoys" the kitchen. He must have thought he died and went to Pistachio Heaven when he found the mother lode and began to stash them inside of the piano.
My brother has a theory about this strange placement...after giving it some thought he sent me a text that said:
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| There's one! |
"You think those mice (MICE??? There'd better be just ONE!) are smart enough to put the nuts in front of the keys so the hammer opens them???"
Very funny! Oh well, whatever the reason, I had to get those nuts out of there. I tried forceps and hemostats - too short. Then, I thought ... maybe I could hook them with a piece of 22 gauge wire! I bent the end into the shape of a hook and was able to retrieve 7. The rest I was able to vacuum up.
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| Mission Accomplished |
This is not an activity I care to repeat. So, I reloaded the trap with Skippy, and thankfully heard a "SNAP" downstairs around 3:30PM. Yep! I got 'em! It is now almost 7:30PM and long enough to ensure that it is not "merely dead - but, most sincerely dead."
Time to reload again. SIGH ... January in the North!
I'd rather be picking flowers....
2 comments:
Heather said...
Hahaha!! Norma, only you would think to use "forceps and hemostats" to get nuts out of a piano!! Thank you for the laugh!
Allen said...
Great story! Only in Ohio! (:>) Texas mice are not so smart! (or musical!)