Well, I had meant to finish the decorating but got caught up most unexpectedly in saving a life. The cats (usually Klyde) often look under the sideboard in the diningroom. Usually there is a cat toy (sometimes there is nothing but a figment of his feline imagination) and ordinarily there are large tumbleweeds of animal fur, paper scraps or other household artifacts. This morning ALL the kitty boys were most interested when I got the yardstick out to fish for the toys and they lined up next to me occasionally peeking under the sideboard, attempting to reach in etc. There were the usual suspects retrieved as listed above and then a scratchy noise (which I incorrectly attributed to a crinkly ball which is the cat's favorite) followed by a blur of fur which shot out from the edge of the furniture with three cats in hot pursuit towards the livingroom. I quickly processed that this was....a MOUSE!! He must have a strong heart as the scream I produced (as well as the territorial looks of the cats) sent the dog scrambling to the safety of the mud room. After Klyde gave him a chase around the fireplace and kitchen island, he scurried for the relative safety of the livingroom couch when Stanley decided to challenge Klyde for the prize. Then the cats set up a surveillance system whereby Gary laid on one side, Stanley in front and Klyde was back up in front of the fireplace. They were amazed at their good luck in having big game indoors.
I called the man of the house for assistance as he was a shore captain today due to the rough seas as I wanted him to stop home first before heading over to buy lobsters locally. When he arrived, we tipped the sofa and he discovered a field mouse hiding there. I produced his lobstering gloves and he attempted a rodent rescue. The abbreviated version - think those old Tom & Jerry cartoons - is that he (assisted by the cats playing right and left wings and me cheerleading while standing on a stool) managed to pick up the mouse after a lap around the kitchen and under the fridge and back to the livingroom and return him to his external home, physically unscathed but likely suffering from PTSD.
The critter hadn't been under the sideboard long as there was a completely unnibbled potato chip under there and no mouse droppings. The puzzle is that with our R2000 house set on a concrete slab with 12 in. concrete wall completely sealed for the smallest draft there is no opening and it's been too cold to have doors open - not to mention the threat of feline escape should this happen. Growing up in and living in older houses would lead you to not be surprised to find rodent visitors but here? Glad the cleaning lady didn't find him yesterday, maybe she brought him with her?
Stanley and Gary have been amusing themselves by posting guard from the top of the couch as shown above and are now napping there. My nerves. I'm going to walk the dog.
