AG seed thief caught. Seeds still missing.!

 We have had our first "frost on the punkin" in PERINTON for this season.  It 
signalled the end for many of our annuals and time to start our pumpkin 
cleanup. Nancy and I had cut a FAILOR 444 offspring to recover some seeds to 
send back to John. After washing them, I placed them on a couple of paper 
towels on my drafting table to dry in our finished basement.. In a few days 
they were dry enough to be separated for faster drying. The next a.m. I 
checked them again and I felt sure some were missing.  So, I divided the 
remainder into 27 piles of 5 each.  Next morning they were ALL gone!  We 
looked everywhere in our basement. No luck!
So, we sifted an 8-inch band of flour between the 2 doors that divide our 
basement.  Sure enough, there were tiny paw prints in the a.m..  I left a few 
sunflower seeds out for bait and moved the sifted flour about 4 ft in the 
direction the thief appeared to be coming from. I repeated this for 2 more  
nights and discovered he(she) was coming from behind the paneling in the 
finished part of the basement.
I baited a HAVAHART trap and caught the thief on the second night.
In the morning, I was greeted by the pink nose, and two big eyes, of a curly- 
tailed field mouse.
After extracting a promise not to return in exchange for his freedom, a short 
field trip was in order.   We released him (her) in a nearby large farm area
The next day, I attached a 6 ft length of 1" PVC pipe to my wifes vacuum 
cleaner and inserted it as far as it would go into the opening behind the 
paneling.  Nothing! So, somewhere in my basement are well over 135 seeds or 
parts thereof.  We did find some remains in a rolled-up rug where he stopped 
long enough for a snack.  The rest could be anywhere.  I plugged two outside 
foundation openings with steel wool until I can cement them closed. 
Fortunately, I had a second F444 pumpkin that we later recovered  the seeds 
from.  They are drying now. So far, none have vanished. 
 About next year?   This AG raising takes so much attention on an almost 
daily basis.  As someone said"why didn't you plant tomatoes". 
Still. I want to take one more shot utilizing what I learned this 1st year.  
Can next summer be as desert-like as this year?  I hope not.
Paul in Perinton, NY.

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