It's a Mouse...No, Mice!

Just heard, about nine inches of new snow has fallen on Connecticut.   Keep it please!  Although there is a stiff northwesterly breeze today, keeping a nip in the air, the Florida sunshine says it all.  If you are lucky enough to sit in a protected area, the sun will melt away all the aches and pains, chilly weather brings.  This morning I was sipping a bit of hot green tea, laced with orange blossom honey, just pondering the day, and soaking up the rays coming through the kitchen window.  Since the weather this season has had its' ups and downs, the intriguing darkness of the backyard preserve, now opened to the elements.  The once lush canopy of tropical foliage, now slowly decaying on the floor of the preserve, yet still serving a purposeful "life", the much needed cold weather insulation for the fragile wildlife that call the preserve, their home.  I watched as little mice scurried in and out of the leaf floor, searching for breakfast.  They move in patterns that are mind boggling, yet understandable.  They are searching for sustenance much like, the bald eagle, mighty owls and long clawed osprey, circling overhead.  Without the leaf cover, the little rodents will be breakfast for the feathered hunters.

The little field mice of New England, enjoy a much better winter life.  If they are luck enough to be near "civilization", the walls and basements of nearby homes, make a great winter vacation, protecting all from the elements.  If they play they cards right, the "owners" will never know they are around.  If they become greedy, the "war" begins!  Although the cold and snow are outside, "humankind" a fearsome foe!

Fred's News, with it's old stone foundation, easy for the taking, yet the "humankind", quite a nasty adversary.  Mr. Bill joked," peanut butter and bacon, slathered on the trap, irresistible!"  The record number of itsy bitsy mice caught in just under seven day, eight!  That crew of rodents were either stupid,  had a passion for the peanut butter-bacon concoction, or the one thing we do know...they sure weren't visual learners.

One winter, looking for traps, trying to remember the last place they were used, I reach for the damn thing, only to find a little mouse sitting right next to it.  Hmmm........could it still smell the peanut butter-bacon thing, was the trap's last victim...a family member (OMG...shades of Bambi...where has Mommy gone!) or was it just waiting for a refill?  Stupid questions, yes, but you never know what goes through these little critters minds, we know what goes through my mind, absolutely craziness...dear God is this what old age and  menopause have done to me!  I'll take the peanut butter and bacon!