Long time between posts

It has been a almost two years since my last post, except for a video link.  Turns out I have had a very busy past two years.

My wife and I welcomed our first grandchild, Jack Westin Brown, in March 2012.

Now Jack is almost 2!

He has brought great joy into our lives.  Shortly after Jack was born, his father, Jason started a new media business, Pendulum Swing Media.  He is an artist that specializes in white board animation.  You can check out a recent video he made below:

Our youngest son, Tyler, was accepted to Loma Linda Medical School in 2012.  Great news, but also involved a move from Phoenix to California and of course, Mom & Dad had to help.  We are very proud of Tyler and his wonderful supportive wife, Anna.  On top of it all, on the first day of school, they found out they are expecting!!!    In April of 2013, our second  grandchild was born - Charlotte Rose Brown. As you can see, she is a beautiful girl.

Tyler is now working hard in his second year of medical school.  His family is on quite a journey together and Anna has created a fantastic blog, Life of a (future) Doctor's Wife, on the whole experience.

The there are the pack rats, busy as ever.  Matt, our middle son, continues to work with me at Mr. Pack Rat.

In addition to pack rat work, Matt developed  and maintains our outstanding web site.  In 2013 we had almost 30,000 visits to the site from all over the world.  This year Matt will be working on a mobile version of the web site for the ever increasing use of smart phones and tablets.  While there is information on the company, the website is really written to be educational and informative on the topic of pack rats, their prevention and control.

February is one of the slower months for pack rats, so I hope to get caught up and keep the blog up to date in the future.

Mr. Pack Rat on "The Morning Blend"!

Mr. Pack Rat was on "The Morning Blend" recently on KGUN 9 Tucson!

Crazy Pack Rats

Pack rats are adept opportunists.  Need a home?  How about the cozy prefabricated storage bin against the side of the wall.  Simply dig in, chew a hole through the plastic base and presto a new home!  Need a bed?  Those work gloves left in the bin look just about right.  A few modifications and a new form fitting bed is made.

Pack Rats Have Spring Fever.

This year we had the fourth warmest January on record.  Most days have been in the low seventies and the nights are mild.  It feels like spring and the pack rats seem to have spring fever.

Pack rats reproduce year-round, but breeding always increases when environmental conditions are favorable and more young can survive.  Freezing temperatures - fewer rats.  Extreme drought - fewer rats.  Nice mild weather with lots of vegetation from late fall rains - conditions perfect - lots of baby rats!

We are finding far more young rats in nests than typical for this time of year.   These rats are still too young to be much of a nuisance, but soon they will be adults and breeding on their own.   If conditions remain favorable 2012 could be a boom years for pack rats.