There's a Mouse in the House!

Each time we arrive at the homestead and enter the house, I immediately check the mouse traps we set around after finding evidence of a few mice during the winter. This weekend was no different and as I checked each trap I was relieved to find they were undisturbed. Each morning when I awaken at the homestead, I check the traps again.

Saturday morning I stumbled out of bed and headed for the coffee pot and out of habit glanced beside the stove and noticed two traps were tripped - and they were completely empty. Not good. Not good at all. I poured my coffee and stumbled to my recliner next to Bernie and announced "Something tripped those mouse traps - but there weren't any mice in them." He said "I think I heard a mouse this morning". I really wasn't sure he was serious, but he convinced me that in the still of the morning he heard something scurrying through our bedroom. As we were sitting there discussing it, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A mouse! And he was sitting about three feet away from me just staring at me - daring me to come closer.

Now, I have a soft spot for mice. When I was about eight years old my cousin, Andy, gave me a little gray mouse in a cage. I named him Popo and I really loved that little mouse. As an adult I've learned the destruction mice cause in a home and I've set out to kill them with traps on many occasions. But I never had one look me in the eyes while I was thinking of killing him! This was going to be a tough one.

Normally Bernie is the Mouse Slayer, but this time I felt it was something personal. That little mouse just thumbed his nose at me! I jumped up from my chair and the mouse scurried into the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and found him sitting on the rug beneath the sink. I walked up within a foot of him and he just sat there staring at me. I slowly reached over and grabbed a dish towel. The mouse just continued starting at me. I took the towel and quickly threw it to the ground with the intent of it landing on the mouse and trapping him long enough for me to catch him. The mouse zipped away. Bernie yelled "Grab a bucket!" I walked over and grabbed the bucket and looked around and said "I don't see the mouse". Bernie said "There he is! He's running to the living room." I hurried over to the living room and saw no sign of a mouse. I asked Bernie "Where is he?". He said "He's crawling up the curtain." Ewwww! I ran over to the curtain and put the bucket underneath the mouse. He fell into the bucket!

I quickly handed the bucket to Bernie and he walked outside to the wood line and released the mouse. As Bernie started walking toward the house he looked behind him and the mouse was following! He walked back toward the mouse and finally the little guy took off into the woods.

That little mouse had some personality. I would love to invite that little mouse to live in our home. But mice don't potty train easily and they like make little nests out of stuff that I am particularly fond of. I wish the best to our little visitor. And I sure hope he doesn't come back to visit. I've baited the traps with peanut butter - and I've got a feeling he couldn't resist that.

The homestead is a luscious green right now. We finally have some grass growing! We still need to get it a little thicker, but damn if it doesn't look nice! Check it out!

I got a new camera and it takes some awesome pictures. I put some pictures on the website of flowers and insects that I took on the homestead.

I also got several pictures of our bees and wrote a blog entry on them.

That's it for now. Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we'll have three whole days on the homestead! Can't wait - and I'll be sure to post some pictures.

Bee Free,
Penny