And Things That Go Bump In The Night . . . . .

Now this is creepy!

Living on a lake, surrounded by lots of trees, we're often visited by woodland creatures:
raccoons, deer, fox, a coyote, loons, geese, wood ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, an eagle . . . . .

And, many times over the years we've had a few little critters get inside the house:
mice (in the fall), chipmunks (in the summer - they sneak in through the open garage door, then dart into the house, following behind some unaware human occupant) . . . . . .

It adds excitement for a moment or two.

We're currently experiencing a little "excitement" that I fear will have an extended run with a very bad ending.

Some critter has found it's way into our chimney and worked it's way down to where the chimney meets the fireplace. It's a complicated and not at all up to code (gift of a previous owner) where fireplace and some furnace vents are all running in the same place. I may have that wrong, but I don't even begin to try to understand what's going on in there.

What's going on in there now is a CRITTER who somehow got in and cannot get OUT!
If he makes it into the fireplace, he'll be contained in there as our fireplace doors are secure.
So, as I write this, he's scurrying around scraping his little claws against the metal chimney liner. Think fingernails on a chalk board . . . . . . . . (shudder).

As long as I hear him, he's not dead. As soon as I do NOT hear him, he IS DEAD. And soon, he will stink. Badly. I haven't yet recovered from the critter who somehow worked his way into the dryer vent and expired. Gads! That was a task to get his tiny mouse corpse out of there!

By the way it sounds, I'm thinking small raccoon. With luck, it's a chipmunk WITH GIANT CLAWS.

Oh, the horror!

And you ask, "How do you know it's a he?"

DUH