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+--- Thread: Very determined Mouse! (/showthread.php?tid=2490)
Very determined Mouse! - Tobi - 10-20-2016
A little while ago, I think in May or June, I put out some old Almonds for the Squirrel. Those Almonds had been kept a bit too long for my taste but I thought the Squirrel might like them.
Well yesterday I dug out a pair of snow boots to clean them up ready for winter. I put my foot in one, and found something bunched-up at the toe. I emptied it out....it was about 30 Almonds!
I knew the Squirrel hadn't put them there, and guessed a Mouse had done that. I then marvelled at the amount of work and planning which must have gone into fetching each Almond, one-by-one from the garden, through the utility room window, and over umpteen obstacles, to the left boot!
I tipped out the Almonds onto a paint can top, and kept a watch on them.
By ten o' clock at night they had all disappeared. And I saw one abandoned Almond right next to a tiny mouse-hole in my semi-outside toilet door-panel. So the Mouse had transported them from the utility room all the way to the back porch in such a short time!
I admire the Mouse. I gave it some extra treats (sunflower seeds) next to its hole. By morning they too had disappeared.
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Catherine - 10-20-2016
That is a hard working mouse. It certainly deserves every treat you give it. It must have been over joyed when you put the almonds out. It must have been horrified when its cache had been found and then happy that they were still there. And then the bonus treats must have made it a very happy mouse. At least now that you know where it has a hole, you can sneak it treats all winter. After all, any mouse that works that hard deserves to be rewarded.
You do share you life with some interesting creatures.
RE: Very determined Mouse! - LPC - 10-20-2016
Mice live delightfully uncomplicated lives. One day years ago I found a mouse dead in our garden and wrote the following poem. It was on the old forum, but after the "crash" it was lost from the archives:
THE ASTRAL MOUSE
On earth I was happy, my joy was complete;
For some humans, that's such a difficult feat!
Enjoy each day for the pleasure it brings;
Think not of money or similar things!
Such items as jewellery, cars and the rest,
Are irrelevant toys - at the best!
All I wanted was food - and of that not a lot;
So humans - what have you REALLY got?
You have the blue sky, and the wind in your face!
Yet still you grumble - what a disgrace!
Look up at the sun, feel its warmth on your head;
What more do you need? Some hay for a bed?
They say we're a "nuisance", a burden to man,
They lay down poison in a tray or a pan,
The scientists use us - for test after test,
Yet mouse or human - whose morals are best?
Now I'm "beyond" all that physical life,
But, unlike you, I regret no strife,
My life was as pure as the driven snow;
And so I beseech you: be like that when you go!
(Written with respect for all mice, living or passed over)
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Tobi - 10-21-2016
Oh LPC!
That is the most beautifully written poem. I like a good poem. You could maybe get it published in a newspaper like "The Daily Mail". They have things like that from the general public, next to the letters page sometimes. It would make people think too, about those gentle creatures who really mean no harm.It is very true. They are gentle unassuming beings who only want to do simple things in life and never kill anything.
I keep my food out of the way of them though, and scrub down surfaces regularly, However I have not seen any evidence of them being on the surfaces (they usually leave droppings where they go.) They are not hurting me, and I like to extend a little hospitality.
Last night I offered some chopped apple but the mouse didn't take much of it. I suppose they can find more apple than they can eat in the orchard next to me.
RE: Very determined Mouse! - LPC - 10-21-2016
(10-21-2016, 02:15 AM)Tobi Wrote: I suppose they can find more apple than they can eat in the orchard next to me.
Rotating LOL
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Catherine - 10-21-2016
If you had offered her more nuts she would have taken them. Maybe she is filling a storehouse and apple wouldn't store very well.
LPC that is a beautiful poem. I sort of remember it from the old Forum. I am glad you posted it again. In many ways it applies to a lot of the creatures around us. They live their lives quietly doing what they need to. We worry about so much and want so much. Maybe that is one of the things I like about snakes. They have very simple needs and they never complain.
When I had dwarf hamsters I was impressed by how happy they were. They lived in the moment and enjoyed whatever they had. When the sun rose they gathered up bedding and curled up to sleep. When it was dark they ate and played on the wheel and generally did hamster things. Each day was a new opportunity and they were happy with it.
You should try offering different treats and find out what the mouse likes best. Think how happy you could make the little mouse by offering something special on a day when it is too cold to go looking for food.
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Tobi - 10-27-2016
It likes sunflower seeds, and unfortunately made it to a low shelf where I kept a bag of them (for my breakfasts!) I scrubbed the shelf and will use it only for canned things. I moved all the 'vulnerable' food I need for myself up to a very high shelf mounted on a sheer wall, so the mouse can't get there!
So the sunflower seeds go to the mouse now. It's not getting them all at once! It gets rations every night!
Also I decided to donate three-quarters of a jar of peanut butter. This has sugar in it and I bought it by accident. I like my peanut butter a little more savoury.
So now there is a teaspoonful of sticky peanut butter by the porch toilet door next to the tiny hole....one small piece of stale seed bread, and a teaspoonful of sunflower seeds.
Soon that tiny mouse will be too fat to get through its miniscule hole and it will have to make the hole slightly bigger! LOL!
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Catherine - 10-27-2016
That is going to be one happy mouse. Bread, peanut butter and sunflower seeds! Your place is mouse heaven. You are right to ration things. You wouldn't want the little mouse to forget how to forage for food. You are just making his life a little easier.
It is always best to store vulnerable food on a safer shelf anyhow. Your cans will be safe for sure, unless he figures out how to use a can opener.
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Tobi - 10-29-2016
(10-27-2016, 03:33 PM)Catherine Wrote: That is going to be one happy mouse. Bread, peanut butter and sunflower seeds! Your place is mouse heaven. You are right to ration things. You wouldn't want the little mouse to forget how to forage for food. You are just making his life a little easier.
It is always best to store vulnerable food on a safer shelf anyhow. Your cans will be safe for sure, unless he figures out how to use a can opener.
Haha! "until he figures out how to use a can opener" Rotating LOL
But thank you for reminding me -I mustn't put too much food down. So far it has worked well for both of us....as a result of my offerings, he has not done much foraging in my kitchen! That means I don't have to scrub down surfaces/draining-board with disinfectant every day! (they poop and pee where they run!)
I am unsure if he/she goes outside. The back door is only 2 feet away but I haven't noticed a hole near the door. Now if that mouse went outside I would not give it treats. But to save my kitchen being marauded, we have managed to create a mutually beneficial diplomatic situation! haha
RE: Very determined Mouse! - Catherine - 10-29-2016
Quote:I am unsure if he/she goes outside. The back door is only 2 feet away but I haven't noticed a hole near the door. Now if that mouse went outside I would not give it treats. But to save my kitchen being marauded, we have managed to create a mutually beneficial diplomatic situation! hahaIt just goes to show that we can learn to live with any "pest" if we want to. You keep him fed with treats and he has not chewed a hole in your door. I think that is very considerate. There is always a diplomatic solution to every problem.
Just think how happy the mouse is and how nice it is to have such a happy house mate. So what name have you given him?