Twas the night before the next day and all through the house
Every creature was stirring, even the mouse!
Somehow, for some reason, I tend to attract adventure. And nighttime is no exception.
Whether it’s killing a centipede at 4 am in Hawaii, chasing a roach with a Chaco in the middle of the night in Bolivia, or, as is the most recent case, being on rat watch duty, adventure awaits every hour of the day and it’s a thrill to be a part of it.
Nighttime here on the pig farm in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia is usually eventful.
If you don’t get up at least once during the night to make that trek to the structure out back containing the squatty potty, you may just miss out on the drama of the nightlife. And yes, squatty potty is everything it sounds like and more.
Let’s start with the pigs. Describing their character, noise, and smell could well take up the whole story. They are the reason for the plague of flies. Last night I was quite convinced there’s a wild beast invasion in the pig’s quarters for the racket they were making. Let’s just say thank you pig when the bacon is served.
Then there’s dogs. The dogs here seem to have somewhat accepted us, but come nighttime, they speak their growls if you linger outside.
Roosters crow for waking up those of any and all time zones.
We don’t hear much from the cows at night but they sure are around. There are so many cows in these parts. It’s like they have their own community, probably even their own government. During the cow rush hour, traffic all over the neighborhood is bumper to bumper, or rather, head to butt. This rush hour happens in the morning and at sundown.
Well, I kinda drifted from the topic of nightlife.
So apparently there’s another creature I have not yet mentioned. Nighttime is up and about time for said creature and though he’s been identified, there’s no proof.
Or maybe there is.
Returning from a trip to the outhouse, I noticed a gray lump with a long tail, galloping down the hallway. He’s outside our room, at least, and really, what can I do?
But there’s more…
So here’s how it happened:
I was in my hanging hammock crib, sleeping soundly and dreaming big, when suddenly I’m interrupted and awakened by a noise…I recognized.
My cookie tin!!
Let me clarify. On Sunday afternoon during our down time at the local coffee shop I bought a tin of butter cookies, about 3 dozen of them. They cost $12,000. Well, an equivalent to about $3. USD.
Anyway, having eaten half of them I set the tin on top of my stack of clothes beside my hanging bed.
Now waking up to this sound had me puzzled. Then again I know my teammates, and I know well the crazy food cravings at any given time, even during the night. That one would try to take some of my cookies was not super alarming to me… but could she at least try to be quiet?
I squirmed to position where I could peek over my crib and behold! There was no culprit in sight. But my cookie tin was most certainly displaced. Convinced now that this teammate was gray and long tailed, I stared at the spot a long time but of course nothing happened until I turned out my light and settled back into my crib. Then the noise started again. For quite some time this battle continued and while my aim to catch the thief in the act was futile, evidence was obvious and he was gaining on me. The lid would be moved, or I noticed a cookie or two shifted its position.
I became very sleepy and it turns out that somewhere along the line I gave up.
I woke the next morning keenly remembering the events of the night. Peering over the side of my crib, I saw open tin with only two cookies left. I was sad. Even as I write, my mouth waters.
Thief got away. Cookies are gone.
If, while reading this sad story you got any ideas on how to arrest rats, I’d appreciate tips in the comments!
