Is There a Mouse in the House?

So, a funny thing happened last night...

I was just getting ready to put our plates on the table for dinner when I saw Charlie (our ginger tabby) on the dog bed, tail all puffed up, with one paw scrabbling around between the bed and the wall.  Jax was several feet away, keenly interested.  I looked a little closer and saw something small and dark between the bed (which is several inches thick) and the wall...and then suddenly, it shot out and ran across the dining room!  It then disappeared under our big china hutch, with Charlie and Jax in hot pursuit.  Jax had his nose pressed to the opening between the hutch and the floor, sniffing for all he was worth while Charlie had his head pressed agains the opening where he could see his prey...a very small mouse.

Now by this time, Hubs had joined the fray and to say that he was not amused would be a huge understatement.  He disappeared into the garage and came back with...a small plastic garden bucket.  Which he asked me to place at one end of the hutch while he stood at the other trying to scare the mouse out.  It was at this point that Jax stepped on Charlie's tail which resulted in a shriek and a ginger streak as the cat raced upstairs and under our bed.  Jax was still in full hunt mode and Hubs was still locked into the idea of catching the mouse with a garden bucket.  (Eye roll).  At this point, Jax was so excited that he was developing a little froth at the mouth.  Hubs may have been frothing too.  Me?  I was trying so hard not to laugh.

Predictably, when the mouse exited the hutch, he ran straight past me, and Jax.  He crossed the foyer at speed and zoomed under ...the door of Hubs' office. Hubs' lack of amusement hit a new low at this point while I was doing everything possible not to laugh.  We have a couple of mouse traps that we have used in the past to trap the odd intrepid mouse that finds its way into our basement and set it up in the office.  This morning, Hubs took the trap with a very small young mouse and turned it loose in the woods.

So that was our evening last night.  We have a high-prey drive dog that couldn't catch one small mouse and a cat that ended up hiding under the bed.  You can't make this stuff up.  

And a photo of a Tufted Titmouse because the real mouse is gone.

Today I had my last session at PT and came home with some stretches and exercises I can do to keep my neck in good form.  And this morning I went to have a look at some Independent Senior Living apartments - with a long shot hope that my parents might be convinced to move to New Jersey.

Plain dark today.  

xo
Debbi