Elections--and rats

What an odd combination for a column title. No, I mean no connection between politicians and rats. But today being the Iowa caucuses, I feel the sense of suspense, as though we were tonight letting a tiny number of people elect the next president--and we may well be doing that. As long as I can stay awake, I'll watch the results. As a dedicated Democrat, that's the race I'm most interested in naturally, but I honestly don't know how I'd vote if I were in Iowa tonight--and yet I would feel obligated to vote. I could easily acceept any of the top three candidates--and I really like Bill Richardson. As for the Republicans, Mike Huckabee scares me but I can't see that he'd be elected--hey, I've said that before and look what happened! Eight long years of George Bush. I like Romney--he's smooth, polished, professional, knowledgeable--but he stands for a lot of things I don't like--continuing the war in Iraq, outlawing abortion, and so on. What a muddle.
Today has been the day of the rat for me. I think I recounted on this space that I found a large dead rat in the yard some time ago and then a dead mouse in the house earlier this week--in retrospect, I think it was a dead baby rat. I found another of those in the yard yesterday (though it had vanished by today when I wanted to show it to the exterminator--I do NOT wish to consider what happened to it!). The exterminator said he wouldn't guess that I have a herd in the attic, but he either saw four rats or one rat four times. Mostly they were small and young, so there's a nest up there. He was interesting, because he can smell them--a talent I am grateful not to have. He doesn't rush in and blanket treat but carefully studies where they are, what he thinks are their paths through the house, etc.--and then that's where he treats.
My neighbors and I are going to have the dead tree between our houses taken down--it's thickly covered with ivy and we think rats are nesting up there. Pat, the Cowtown Bugstomper, said it's possible, but when the tree comes down, more rats are likely to seek refuge in my house. So he'll come back next week to check the baits, etc.
And tonight, standing in the kitchen, I distinctly heard clawing in the wall behind the wine rack. I knocked on the wall and it went away. Yuck!