Christmas Don't Be Late

This is what it's come down to. Tonight we baited a have-a-heart trap with a dirty diaper in hopes of catching the chipmunk who's been getting into the house. We think it's a chipmunk at least though H offered, hopefully, that it could be a leprechaun.
The boys and I went walking in Beebe Woods yesterday. It was the first 60-degree day of 2011 so naturally the trails were awash in families, dog walkers, joggers, and mountain bikers. Not too far from the big rock, S and N decided that they had to go to the bathroom so I had no alternative but to hustle them 10 feet off the path and aim them towards a convenient tree. No less than a dozen people walked by while they were doing their thing and I was left performing the what-can-you-do shrug and flashing a half smile that conveyed, "it's out of my hands."
Further along, also 10 feet off the path, H announced that there's dog poop and someone should have brought a bag for it.
I tried to explain that poop 10 feet off the path is fine right where it is and doesn't need to be in a plastic bag.
I felt like adding that when I was a kid nobody collected their pet's waste in plastic bags and that whenever you went outside there was an ever-present danger of stepping into poop and that you just had to live with that kind of peril day in and day out. And eventually you did step in poop and the adults in your life told you it wasn't a big deal and that in fact it "builds character" and to go wipe you Keds on some leaves in the backyard before getting into the car.
Expect for at our house, were we just might use your dirty shoe in the chipmunk trap.

song: Christmas Don't Be Late • artist: Alvin & the Chipmunks