eeeeeeek!

I consider myself to be a nature lover.  I'm not afraid of wildlife.  I wasn't scared last summer when a fox sat down within 3 feet of me.  I was fascinated by the snake who crossed my path while I was walking a trail.

But finding a tiny mouse with two babies in my compost bin made me scream like a baby.  Not that it did me any good.  My neighbourhood is full of houses.  My husband was inside doing the income tax return.  Even though I screemed as loud as I ever have, no one came galloping to rescue this fair maiden.

In the 25 years I have kept a compost bin, I have never had trouble with critters, except for a racoon incident I fixed by wrapping plastic netting around the bin opening.  But this was different.  I was shovelling out the bin and spreading the compost on the garden when this mommy mouse appeared in amongst the finished compost.  Two babies half her size were nursing.  She dragged herself and those heavy kids out of the bin and into hiding about as fast as she possibly could.  I was consumed by compassion for her predicament, and imagining her pain as she dragged them out.  What moms won't do for their babies!

In total, I found 10 mice in my two compost bins.  The cat was no help - the mice sat perfectly still, so he didn't even notice them.  I guess cats are more like dinosaurs than I realized.  They can't see stuff that isn't moving.

I'm thinking we are going to have a plague of rodents this year.