Three Blind Mice

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.

See how they run. See how they run.

They all ran after the farmer’s wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,

Did you ever see such a sight in your life,

As three blind mice?

When I was just a tiny tot, my Grandmother we named "Bumby" sang us this nursery rhyme.  The song was upbeat and perky.  It was very uplifting and invoked upon the listener a sense of happiness, peace and calm.  Yeah, no.  Nursery rhymes were disturbing, dark, and twisted.  

Practically speaking, however, rats and mice are vermin.  I make it part of my mission statement to eradicate (e-rat-icate) them from our property.  When the weather begins to cool, they seek refuge in our barn.  The barn is cozy, filled with hay for the winter - perfect for rat nests.  There is always some leftover grain that the rats devour.  They are nasty animals.  They carry disease.  They pee on the hay.  They make a mess.  Therefore, they must go.

I am not going to cut off their tails with a carving knife.  I trap them in my heavy duty rat traps.  These traps are deadly.  I bait the traps by smearing chunky peanut butter on them and set the trap.  You must be very careful.  If the hair-trigger goes off and snaps on your finger, it will break bones.  In the last six days, I have ended the lives of four rats...

SNAP!

CRACKLE!

POP!

These were all young rats.  Where young ones are, there are older ones.  I'll keep trying to kill them.  I don't want them blind.  I want them dead.  Perhaps listening to dark nursery rhymes as a child affected my civility.