Invasions

Two lots of creatures entered my domain today, and the field mouse wasn't the worst of them. It was bad enough though, and caused complete chaos to the kitchen as I tried to work out how to catch it. I was sitting on the sofa reading the paper with my morning cup of coffee when I noticed something dart under the fridge, and it wasn't a big spider. I shone a torch into the space, and two tiny eyes gleamed back at me. Hugo, I called into the garden urgently, mouse in the house! He came in at once, not knowing what I wanted but alert and curious. But I didn't want him to savage the tiny thing, just give me some moral support. I pulled out the fridge, and spotted the little fellow hiding in a corner where the skirting board was missing. But as I moved towards it it vanished into the space. There was no way I was going to share the kitchen with a mouse, even a cute one like this. It would have easily fitted into an eggcup. I hunted outside for a piece of wood, and found a length of skirting board in the shed. This I sawed down to size and forced into the space where it should have been. This effectively cut off the mouse's escape back into the house, but I assume it came in through a small hole and not through the back door which involves a high step. Can mice jump? I think not. Anyway, it was an opportunity to clean behind the fridge which I took. Eagerly. Not.

The second creature, or creatures plural, were at the bottom of the dustbin when it was emptied this morning. I had noticed a really bad smell out there during the week, I mean a really bad smell. The last time I smelled something so horrible was when rat poison was put under the hen house to catch the egg thieves, and they all died in situ. It took a while for the stench to pass. I looked into the empty bin, and there were maggots, lots of them, wriggling around. And the smell was still there. Poor dustbin men! The last time I found maggots was in the kitchen bin when my children were small. We had a double bin, and they were at the bottom of the outer one, without a smell. I nearly died of shock. In the house! In the kitchen! With my two beautiful clean healthy children. What sort of a mother was I?  Boiling water first, then and now, the whole lot tipped into a wild part of the garden, then disinfectant and more boiling water. It was job done then, but this time the smell lingers so I've left the bin open to the fresh air. I think I know what the culprit must have been: the remains of a leg of lamb from 10 days ago. I can still smell the rosemary.

The final creature story of the day involves the legitimate one, Hugo. His scar has all but healed up, and I was planning to leave his buster collar off tonight. But somehow, when I wasn't looking, he has licked it and made a small raw patch. It's not bad and is already scabbing over again. But that's it for the time being. I cannot risk him opening it up and causing an infection, so the collar will remain in place for now. Dear, sweet, affectionate little boy. We lay on the lawn together today as I forced myself to rest between weeding, and he snuggled right in to my body and tipped his head back to look into my eyes. For several seconds he just looked at me, and I looked back. Has more love ever been shared between two souls? Well, yes of course it has, but it was such a tender moment. More than enough for me.