Temporary Pets

A couple background items:

1. We live in a new neighborhood and a few new homes are started each month. Before the housing moved in it used to be farmland.

2. Although I like animals, I really don't like them in my house very much. We had fish before we moved and I really liked those.

OK, now the story. We have a bucket that we keep outside in the garage for organic material to put into the garden for compost. A few weeks ago I had a plate of egg shells, potato peels, etc., that I was taking out there. The bucket was empty and had been cleaned the day before. So I go over to the bucket and was about to dump my stuff inside only to see a bundle of furry movement at the bottom. Now, props for myself here. I didn't scream; I didn't run in the house like a crazy person. I calmly went inside and told my father-in-law that there were what I thought to be 3 mice in the compost bucket. Then I came downstairs and told Ryan.

I wanted to be as far away as possible from any little mice. But not everyone followed suit. Ryan went straight upstairs to check it out. He comes back to tell me that there were FIVE, yes that is right, FIVE mice in the bucket. It gives me the chills just writing about it. At this point he picks up Bella to take her up to see the the little mice. Apparently she thought they were great. She talked to them and said, "Hi cute little mouse," and "stay in the bucket, don't get out." WHAT? I see mice and I see germs, disease, etc., not cute little pets. So they were her "not allowed to touch pets" for a few minutes before they were taken out of the garage and to a new resting place.

Other side notes: 1. We have traps in the garage so this kind of thing wouldn't happen. 2. Clark was SO disappointed when he came home from school that they were no longer with us. He really thought we should have waited for him to see them. The pictures had to suffice. 3. We are no longer using the compost bucket.

For the brave souls who want to see, here are a couple pictures. I can hardly even look at them. My only consolation is that they have only been in the garage and not in the house.