Mary and the Mouse

When we were preparing for our move, our deal pal Kate gave Mary a book titled, "Mary and the Mouse." This week, that book holds new meaning for our family.

A few days ago, as we were sitting in the family room, I thought I saw something rather large, perhaps a mouse, scurrying across the kitchen floor. But, a flashlight check revealed nothing, so I chalked it up to my wild imagination (after all, I've also seen phantom spiders that later turn out to be lint).

Two days ago, even though I had just swept the kitchen floor, I spotted a strange pile of debris under the dishwasher....little hairballs and a few pieces of glass all matted together. Very odd, I thought, as I swept it up.

And then yesterday, to my horror, I found a few mouse droppings. Which led to sheer panic and a two-hour inventory of our food to make sure it hadn't been infiltrated. Nothing. No other signs. But, the droppings were all the evidence I needed to high-tail it to the hardware store and purchase a mouse trap.

This morning, the trap was empty. Perhaps the intruder was just a one-time visitor, I hoped. I went to the basement and poured Greta's breakfast into her bowl. I went back upstairs to find that Lucy's glass of juice had splattered across the floor. Which returned me to the basement to fetch a mop and bucket to clean the kitchen floor. And, can you imagine what I saw? Nope, not a mouse. (Logical guess, though.)

A rat. A large rat with beady eyes and a tail as long as a pencil. It was holding a kibble of Greta's food as it raced down the hallway into the workshop room and disappeared into the wall. (And yes, for the record, I screamed.) And while Greta sniffed madly at the wall, that rat didn't budge from his hiding spot. He sat there chewing his little kibble pleasantly from his resting place. Munch, munch, munch. Greta finally gave up, ate her breakfast and returned to her favorite spot in the sunroom.

So, it's RAT WATCH Day 1. Officially. We shall see how long it takes to trap our newest visitor and find out if he brought any friends along. Meanwhile, I have ordered tough plastic bins for the cupboards. I hope they arrive in our kitchen shelves before our freeloader does!

(And by the way, I realize this post probably cancels out any potential visits from friends that might have read the previous post. I hope to reinstate the good hosting abilities of our house shortly.)