Mouse in the House

The down side of leaving the back door open for the animals to go out during the day is that other animals come in. For the last couple of weeks I have a little visitor leaving "chocolate sprinkles" all over my counters and stove at night. I finally bought a snazzy live trap at the local store (we only have one store in town). Like a Roach Motel, the mouse goes in, but cannot get back out.

So, I've had the trap set for about a week, and yesterday afternoon I noticed the bait had been moved around. Sure enough, I had a capture. This morning I took him (her?) for a long walk.

Was s/he just sleepy, or not feeling well? Whatever the reason, s/he did not want to come out.

I had to get a little aggressive and shake him/her loose.

Finally, success. But once out, s/he just didn't want to move. Maybe it was just too chilly. Or maybe the poor thing was just terrified.


I took a look at the tail to see if it had a little tuft of white fur off the end, a sign of the deer mouse. It didn't, so perhaps this was a white-footed mouse.

After a little encouragement and some gentle stroking on its head and back, the little thing seemed to perk up a bit.


A little exploration followed.

Toby was dying of curiosity and I finally let him take a close look (and sniff).

Soon thereafter the mouse slowly scampered into the leaves and vanished. I gathered up my lenses, the trap and the dog, and we headed home.

More Signs of Spring

As I drove home from work yesterday, I watched two crows chasing and harrassing a raven. Every time they dove at it, it flipped over and presented its feet. Very cool. My camera was packed in my bag on the seat behind me, so no photos.

This morning, my boss came in and announced not only were the starlings back (she saw two at her feeders yesterday), but this morning she had red-winged blackbirds and grackles. I walked by her house about 8 AM today and didn't see or hear any blackbirds of any kind...must be they waited for the sun to warm things up a bit more.

Meanwhile, back in my yard, I discovered the following additional signs of spring late yesterday afternoon:

The giant pussy willows have emerged.

The black pussy willows have emerged.

These guys are stiff and bristly, not soft

and fuzzy like "normal" pussy willows.

The hazelnut catkins await real spring. Two of my four shrubs

have these male flowers this year. Maybe I'll get nuts this time around?


The apple trees have soft green tips, with what look like
new leaves at the very end. I actually noticed these
a month or two ago...should've noted last fall when
the pussy willows popped if the apple trees had put out this new growth
at the same time. Will have to keep my eyes peeled better next fall/winter.




The rodents got beneath the snow and snuggled up around this burning bush, using it for fodder through the winter. This is why I wrap the bases of the trees and shrubs I want to protect. I don't mind too much that this shrub was attacked, for it is considered an invasive and is one of three more plants I need to remove from my gardens.