Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Mouse House

A friend stopped over the other day and the conversation turned toward the miniature sized door I have glued to the bottom side of one of my cabinets. It's what I call a "fairy door" but it doesn't open and there is nothing inside. It's purely for the imagination and probably utterly silly. Lora told me how when she was a little girl there was a hole in a wall of her house where here mother said a mouse lived. It was nothing but a tiny hole. Lora often found herself peering into the darkness hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiny resident, but she never saw him.

The following day I stumbled upon a photograph that took me back to our conversation. It was a real "live" mouse house built into someone's wall. It had a light inside which made the whimsical dwelling serve a double purpose as a nightlight. I found myself intrigued and wondering if maybe I have the perfect spot somewhere in my house for a nightlight "mouse" dwelling. (I'm really just a kid inside...)

Yesterday my bird feeder needed filling and while I was at it, I decided to toss a cupful of peanuts to the blue jays as well. I scooped up a cup of peanuts and when I pulled it out of the bag, an involuntary (and hideous) scream escaped my lips. There on top of my cupful of peanuts lay a still and apparently lifeless mouse. Miraculously, I did not toss the cup or spill anything. Feeling rather foolish, and slightly skittish toward the mouse I was holding, I regained my composure, stepped outside the door into the cold, and tossed the little creature into the snow by his still limp tail. I've since decided to keep my bag of peanuts a little further from the floor and clipped up tight with a bag clip.

I keep saying I'm not afraid of mice, after all, I've had them as pets, but I can't seem to convince myself.  I'm stepping a little more gingerly around the birdseed bag.

12 comments:

  1. What an adorable night light.... Oh my, a real live mouse (oops I mean dead) in your peanuts. Did he overdose on peanuts??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure I gave him a heart attack.

      Delete
  2. I keep all my bird seed....including whole peanuts....in plastic containers....WITH LIDS!!!
    Pick up a few at a thrift shop...you'll be thankful!
    At the cottage...we had mice in the shed....eating bird seed that had dropped...guess what?
    My boyfriend trapped them...ha!
    Take that you mices!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I need to keep my feed in a safer place. Normally I keep the bags clipped shut, but I either got lazy or the clips broke.

      Delete
  3. haha...oh dear..it's been 3 years since we had mice...exactly how long we've had cats. Now...we're are those two cats of yours?? Tell them they are loafing! haha. Can't believe he was in your peanuts...but they'll just eat through the bag...they're nice like that. ha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have enough cats that I'd bet the mice all moved out long ago. I'm surprised you have birds!
      ha ha
      The cats are still catching them, but every once in a while I like a turn to catch one too. Lol.

      Delete
  4. Our cats are getting OLD and the mice, well they just phbbttt them on their way past

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe we should get a couple of kittens. :0)

      Delete
  5. I've screamed like a girl in situations like this!
    I once stepped on a garter snake.
    I've come to expect the mice hiding in my bird seed, though! That's taken some years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not at all surprised there was one in the bag, there have even been times when I checked first to be sure there weren't any, but this poor guy took me by surprise anyway.
      Snakes are the same. They aren't scary unless I'm not expecting them.

      Delete
  6. At least you did not find a live one in your pant leg. Talk to Audra about her adventure finding a shrew in hers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not at all sure how calm I would be with a rodent in my pant leg, but I know panicking would be the wrong thing...

      Delete