Hickory Dickory Dock

Friday morning the kids and I sat around the island eating our breakfast when, out of the corner of my eye I saw something run up the wall. I thought at first that I must be seeing things - cause really, what runs up walls in Canada other than spiders? Well if you happen to have natural grass paper covering a wall like I do - mice can climb it! There was this big fat mouse... climbed up the grass paper and sat on top of my "wine" art canvas and literally sat there and looked at us!! I was in complete shock. It is not typical to ever see a mouse - the only way you know you have one is from their droppings! But to have one climb up a wall and sit on a painting and stare at you from 10 feet away is freaky!

Dan ran for the broom, opened the back door and tried to chase it out, but it ended up seeking refuge under the fridge. We have 2 cats so a mouse does not survive long in our house, especially a mouse as bold as this! Typically the way we find out that a mouse was in our house, is because we find the dead body left at the foot of my daughter's bed as a gift from the cat. We have never seen droppings etc.

The day progress, and we saw that thing 2 more times and thought for sure the cats would get it that night. The next day, we cleaned house in the am and didn't see any sign of our fat mouse. Our social worker came in the afternoon to go over our AEP. She wasn't there all but 10 minutes (sitting at our island), when the darn mouse ran across the kitchen and behind the garbage can. Dan and I both bolted instantly... he opened the back door, got the broom. I got a large tupperware container (logic???), and we tried to shoe it out the door. Once again - it escaped, but under the china cabinet this time. Our social worker was like, "What the..."??? Ha. Then we had to explain to her... and felt like idiots, trying to excuse the fact we have a mouse. Ha! She just laughed and said not to worry, she has had her own mice problems before.

Later on that evening after everyone went to bed... I saw the cat patiently sitting and staring under the TV stand. I knew the mouse had to be under there. So, I stuck my iphone up to the void under the stand and snapped a photo. A big fat (pregnant?) deer mouse! (And lots of dust, I know...)

This is where you all are going to think I have completely lost my mind... I can't set mouse traps... I can't kill anything. Really, I am that person that would bend down to pick up and rescue a worm that is dying in the sun. I like the fact that my cats take care of any rodent issues... but I can let that go as part of the animal food chain, or life cycle. I have to admit however that I have come across my cats torturing a mouse and I did save it and transported it outside. I feel sorry for them. A life is a life... So when I saw this picture... I felt sorry for the mouse, and you don't really want to know what I did next. Don't tell my husband, but I cut a piece of apple and sat it just under the ledge of the stand. My thoughts are at least it could have one good last meal. We have not seen it since. I am hoping she went outside and is not bedding down somewhere in the house to have a dozen babies... or that the cat killed it and left it somewhere to rot!

Now that I have completely grossed you all out - please have a fabulous week! lol...