Country Mouse
I had to take the garbage out on Wednesday afternoon. Every garbage can we have was full… very full. We hadn’t gotten the garbage out for a few weeks, what with holidays and parties and being sick. So I was very motivated to get the garbage cans out so I could empty out the fridge from the party leftovers.
Since we have a very long driveway, I have started to put the cans in the back of my Outback and drive up to the top of the driveway. I got the first of three garbage cans and started to roll it from the basement door to the car parked in the driveway. There was some snow on the ground, so it was a bit difficult to get it to roll smoothly. As I am walking toward the car, I see a brown blur out of the corner of my eye. It slows down enough and I recognize it as a mouse. “How cute” I think to myself – amazed he’s doing so well in the winter months. I get up to the car and notice there is a HOLE in the bottom of the garbage can.
And then I notice something else… a small claw inching its way out of the garbage can. So apparently there was at least one other mouse living in my garbage can. I figured he needed some time to get out of there safely, so I left the garbage can there and went to get the other two at the basement door. I took those two up to the top of the driveway and came back to get the third. I looked at the hole, and I could still see the claw there. I decided to lift it up and get it into the car – maybe the mouse would find his bravery when the garbage can was at the top of the driveway. As I lift, I make sure that the hole is up – he was hanging on that way and garbage wouldn’t shift back on him. I started to lift up and WHOO!! another brown streak is going through my field of vision. Actually – it went toward my parents field – off to relative safety.
The next day I got the empty garbage cans to put back at the basement door. I looked at the one with the hole – and there were the remains of the mice’s winter home. There were shredded bits of everything — a spectacular nest of warmth and food to nibble on for a few weeks. Ah, the luxuries of country living!