当去年秋天枇杷树冒出花枝时，我的憧憬随之而来 -- 憧憬着果实累累的四月，憧憬着黄澄澄的果子甜滋滋的果肉，还想着寄些给女儿尝尝。所以在接下来的半年里，在Home depot鸡粪牛粪售罄的日子里，为了美好的憧憬，我不厌其烦地做着酵素，浇水，施着薄薄的化肥，希望今春的果实长得又大又多。
可理想很丰满，现实很骨感。
二月发现枇杷结的太多太小，小小个就开始变黄，便狠下心来疏果。打掉了很多青青的果子，以为有舍才有得，剩下挂在树梢的果子应该有足够的养分长大成熟。
然后发现有老鼠。枇杷树下常常发现残留的青果子，果仁常常被吃空了。(后来发现，果子青的时候老鼠吃果仁，等果子成熟了吃果子，估计老鼠也知道成熟的果子更好吃吧。)
想着以前社区是负责打老鼠的，就上网submit了一个order, 结果如石沉大海，迟迟不见有动作。现在的HOA名声很臭，光知道收钱，涨管理费，管起居民来煞有其事，却常常置我们的需求不理不顾。
无奈中，只有自己行动起来。我找来家里的网兜，纸袋，塑料袋，爬上去一串串套上，那些树顶上的太高够不着就算了。边上朋友告诉我说，她以前常常晚上将塑料袋套上，第二天再取下来。开始几天我也爬上爬下地去套塑料袋，后来就懒得弄了。想想就为吃几颗枇杷上上下下的，有点不值。一日看到网上说，用洗洁精+白糖+白酒+香油，老鼠吃了会烂肚肠。我学着精心调制，放了一大盒在树下。一连几天不见老鼠上钩。又一日自己吃着苹果时，想起白雪公主和皇后故事里的毒苹果，脑筋一转弯，接下来的两三个晚上，后院的草丛中便多了一小块在"蜜汁"里滚过的苹果。沾了洗洁精白糖的苹果/苹果皮倒是被老鼠吃的干干净净，老鼠的肚肠却好像完好无损。
眼见树上的枇杷一天少一天，青果子的残骸几乎每天出现在同一个地方，我想想还是要去Home Depot看看有什么灭鼠的产品。
于是乎，短短的一星期内去了三次Home Depot。买了小的老鼠夹，大的老鼠夹，粘老鼠的强力胶，每一次买回来都满怀希望，希望能夹到/粘到老鼠。可老鼠远比人想象的要聪明，粘鼠胶上的苹果皮吃掉了，老鼠没有黏住，粘鼠胶四周都是被它从地上抖起来的尘土或草屑。老鼠夹上放的枇杷诱饵被吃得只剩下皮，老鼠却没有夹住。一日晚两人还在楼上房间听到鼠夹跳闸的声音，等我们匆匆下来打开院子门，还听到老鼠逃窜的声音，鼠夹自然是空的。
一度我都放弃了，斗不过老鼠，那就让它吃吧，总归会给我留几个吧。加上总还是有一些被网兜网住不是。可谁料到，一段时间不留神，一日早上从二楼窗户往下看，被网兜网住的那一串串也被吃的一颗不剩。顿时气不打一处出地冲到院子，端来梯子，爬上去扯下那网兜一看，网兜早已经被咬的千疮百孔了!
每次弄鼠夹都要请某人亲自动手。小的鼠夹没效，又换大的。白天我再去把它收起来等晚上再用。一日，某人看见我收起鼠夹放在院子的桌上，便警告我说，"小心这鼠夹，劲很大，等下老鼠没夹到，把自己的手指夹断了"。我反问道，"你是说，老鼠比我聪明?" 某人狡黠地笑着说，"Maybe".
树上的枇杷已经所剩不多了，前一阵趁早摘了两串给隔壁邻居A，还觉着不好意思呢，因为我的枇杷引来了老鼠。自己倒也是吃了几颗，有几颗小的没什么肉，有几颗挺甜，吃得唇齿留香。可比起近乎半年来付出的劳动，得到的真是不成比例的。更气人的是，人鼠斗中我是失败者:))
不过想想也没啥，全世界这么多人都还斗不过一个小小的病毒呢。
后记: 原本以为女儿今年春天会回家一趟的。去年年底过节还在Costco买了她爱吃的酒心巧克力。不过这疫情反反复复的，尚不知道她什么时候会回来。今早(4/22/2021)突然起念要不给女儿寄几颗枇杷过去，顺便也把那盒巧克力给她寄去。主意一定，便开始行动。一个人爬上梯子剪了几支网兜下的枇杷，很勉强凑了一盆，今年的枇杷个儿也小，原本真不打算寄了的。(剪的时候还发现有些枇杷被鸟啄了朝上一面，从下面看好像还好好的。看来农民不好当的。)
下午二点多趁中午休息时间，跑去Fedex, 把一箱装有巧克力、枇杷和三小袋中午刚刚炒香后用搅拌机打碎的黑芝麻粉和核桃肉一起寄了出去。据说包裹周日就可以到了，Fedex从去年下半年开始在有些城市增加了周日递送的服务。
My anticipation grew as flowering loquat tree started bearing little green loquats. Entering its third year of fruiting, the tree is like a blooming lady in her best time, healthy , productive and fruitful. I dreamed of the harvest days, when clusters of yellow fruit hang heavily from the tree, from which I pick one after another the mellow juicy loquats that are rarely found on the market.
But the dream was swirled to a nightmare overnight, when one morning I saw a few hollow shells of unripen green loquats scattering under the tree, the young soft seeds inside missing. Who did this? My suspicion that it must be a rat was soon proved right, as one night at my opening the porch light and the backyard door, a rat scurried away in the darkness.
When my pesticide request submitted to our HOA got unanswered, I had to act on my own. I climbed up the ladder and wrapped up the fruit as much as I can with paper bags, plastic bags or bag nets, leaving those high above or out of reach alone. For a while, though the remains of green loquats were still seen around, I thought to myself that at least those bagged or netted ones should be safe and mine.
I was proved wrong this time. As the loquats were turning yellow, one morning standing by the second-floor window, I suddenly noticed that quite a few clusters of netted ripening fruit were alarmingly gone. Upon a closer scrutiny of the nets taken down from the tree, I found bigger holes in the net gnawed by the rat.
Desperately I resorted to Home Depot for a solution. I visited it thrice within a week. But the products that promise to be very effective failed to do the job. The rat adeptly nibbled away the bait under the trap without being caught. It ate up the food on the glue trap without being glued or leaving a footprint. I don’t know if the products are obsoletely designed, or if the rat evolves to outwit us humans now. And with the meagre loquats left on the tree, I was undoubtedly defeated in the battle.
下面这些照片是上星期天(4/18)拍的。春天已经渐行渐远。
附最近唱的《梅花泪》
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