Life in the MV

Purchasing our first home was at best bittersweet. We love our town of Maple Valley, with its trees and small town feel, and of course a home we could afford. We miss our friends in Issaquah, the ability to call maintenance when there are mice in your heaters and the closer proximity to Microsoft. We discovered this week that we have a mole or gopher that has taken to our front yard. My first reaction was to call maintenance, of course that doesn't exist in home ownership, except in the form of an exterminator which Travis insists will cost 400-500 dollars. He knows a thing or two after selling pest control service door to door for a summer. My next reaction is to call my dad, the new maintenance guy. I just figure we don't know what we're dealing with and could use some advice. Much like when I call my mom when I am having a new mom moment and don't know what to do with a teething baby. Apparently men don't call others for advice when it comes to new homeowner moments. So we headed off to our little hardware store on the corner and look into some mole/gopher control. I have never been an animal activist of any sort, and I fully support the extermination of rodents in the home. I had no idea that moles and gophers deserved the most inhumane traps that are out there. The one we finally purchased simply slices and dices them. The trap has been in place all week with no results. I am starting to like our little friend(s) and don't mind the huge mounds of dirt. I guess I just keep picturing the gopher from Winnie the Pooh, he may be grumpy, but hey if Pooh can live with 'em so can I.