Rats in the Kitchen, What am I going to do?

It's official, we have rats! In the chicken enclosure to be precise. I noticed them initially scurrying about in the summer but hadn't seen them for months but over the last couple of days we have had snow and I saw a HUGE rat a couple of says ago disappear into the undergrowth.The last straw came today when one calmly scurried into the coop where that hens were eating and proceeded to join in whilst another jumped out the rabbit hutch! I will be taking a trip to my local farm stockist on Monday for rat poison. Apparently you shove it down their holes and they eat it. The thought of killing anything turns my stomach but the village experts say I must ,as the multiply quickly.It did occur to me to train our border terrier to become a Canine mouse trap but I suppose I'll just have to man up and do something about it.If I can clip chicken wings then I can dispose of rats. Now wheres my flute- I could lead them out of the village like the Pied Piper of Hamlyn, down the road and into the sea-there's a thought!

Village life is like that. It's not all daffodils in the orchard and happy lambs cambolling about in the fields, in fact the lambs have been dying  at birth over the last couple of days because of severe blizzard conditions and drifting.The farmer has had to take them all back down on the farm to keep an eye on them. The brook has almost frozen over too and although the village was cut off from the outside world yesterday the farmers were up and down in their tractors ferrying hay and fodder to nearby fields.

We  spent the morning yesterday cutting down a tree that had fallen across the neighbour's drive. Chain saws have their uses in the country!

Rural life has changed us as a family for the better.We have become resourceful and more creative- less flappable ! We huddled round the fire last night with our lanterns as a power cut struck! We have learned to stock a supply of candles and torches which have a specific storage area for emergencies and my autistic son cuddles the dog 'so he won't feel frightened'. It's a different but wonderful life!