Full circle

I think we've all encountered the hypothesis that David Bowie was the cement that held the universe together and that since his death everything has begun falling apart. Well on a much smaller scale the same is true about our house since the death of our little black tomcat in June. One of the three remaining cats (all female) has begun to graffiti the kitchen at night, so now all cats and dog are shut outside at bedtime. Sacks of barley and bran for the sheep and corn for the chickens are kept in a store-room which opens onto the sitting room. With no cats around at night we have noticed a burgeoning mouse problem. Mice have nibbled holes in the bottom of the sacks which has released grain-weevils into the general space within the house which in turn is attracting lizards. We always did have geckos indoors but we now have lizards as well. I like geckos and lizards and I am glad that the cats are either too lazy or too stupid to hunt them, but I really don't want mice and weevils all over the place.

We've been listening and watching and setting traps to no avail so it came as a bit of a surprise this morning to find one cheeky mouse had drowned itself in my washing-up rinse bowl. I threw it to the chickens who do enjoy a bit of corn-fed mouse recycling.