Watch Out For Little Families

There I was on my hands and knees combing through the area looking for the tiny pink creatures too small to make a noise. When I did find one it remained motionless with its legs straight up in the air and it's tiny mouth slightly opened. Frozen with its dark marble eyes still closed, I wondered if it would live, if I shouldn't just leave it there to let nature take its course.

Minutes earlier had I carried my old porch bench onto the lawn, gave it a good sweeping then went to the trailer to get the big ratty tarp we kept there.  I reached over the side and began pulling it towards me when two little somethings rolled out of it. Realizing that I had upset a mouse nest, I placed the little mice onto the nest and proceeded to drag the tarp over to my project. I began unfolding the tarp when a rather stunned adult brown mouse fell onto the grass staring at me like I was a barn cat. Now you have to know that I have done battle with this little critter's relatives, mostly in the Autumn when they found their way into my basement and began filling our snow boots with birdseed; but how was I to not to take pity knowing that her babies were back in the trailer and I had unwittingly been the cause of this family breakup. I briefly considered scooping her up with my hands but common sense took over and I headed to the shed to find a pail. Of course she took off running for the wood pile when she saw that pail.

I was finally ready to resume my project when it occurred to me that mice babies seldom came in twos, in fact they typically come in litters of six or more. So I picked back up the tarp, gave it a firm shake and out popped the third mouseling. The fourth was close by in the lawn and that is all that I was able to recover. Being 100% invested in their minuscule chances for survival, I stayed in the area just in case a predator took notice. That is when I noticed that a couple of Carolina Wrens were flying in and out of our canoe which we keep upside down on our clothesline. I took one last look at the mice whose mother had yet to return, painted my bench and went inside for the evening. 

I'll probably feel differently come fall about families of mice moving into our basement; but for now I can't help but feel a little bit saddened.  - Norma Manning

Four mouselings 

Carolina Wren's in our canoe