Of Mice and, er, Snakes!

One of the perks of living where we do is that we often get to see wildlife up close and personal. We get lots of deer on the edge of the property. One day we actually watched a deer poop and then clean itself afterwards. I had never seen a deer put a leg up in the air like that before. Interesting! We have a hawk that sometimes lands on our branch by the deck. Wild turkeys walk thru our yard and create a fun atmosphere as we watch them. The chipmunks are a riot. The squirrels a nuisance. Still, it's fun to watch God's creations in their environment doing their thing.

Recently we discovered that we have mice living downstairs. Not pet mice. Wild field mice. Apparently, they have entered our home from a hole somewhere under the siding in the house. Alex found one hole, which he sealed. Some traps yielded two mice - and Tinkerbell got her first kill on another. There has been evidence that there was one more lurking downstairs. One trap was sprung, but didn't catch anything.

The thought of mice in my home has been pretty debilitating as I am not overly fond of these little creatures - especially in my home. Mice, however, are now the least of my worries. It seems that a snake has now taken up residence here as well!

Yesterday, after church, Chelsea was cleaning up the bathroom. She found a freshly shedded snake skin hanging out under the heater - apparently lost as the snake was heading down the heating pipe. This skin was NOT there before we left for church. The snake poop that the snake left on a magazine in the bathroom was not there either. As busy as I was getting ready for church, there was no way I could have missed those. So, that means the snake was there possibly while I showered and got ready for church - coming out only after we left the house. I might note, however, that my mother was still here in the house.

I had a hard time sleeping last night. I kept hearing the word "snake" slither thru my mind. It definitely gave me the heeby-geebies! Alex is trying to convince me that a snake could be a good thing as it would eat the mice. But if that is the case, how many mice are there??? I keep having scenes from Ratatouille run (literally) thru my head.