As many of you might have guessed, I love critters, of all sorts.  As of 5 days ago, I became aware of an uninvited critter, in my kitchen, ewe, even I don’t like critters running loose in the kitchen.  Anyway, my wonderful, bug guy, John, came to the rescue and brought me a live trap.  As our property has several large birds of prey, foxes and many other small predators I prefer to release the captives into our pasture.  Several days went by and no mouse.  A few nights I could still hear it scampering around and was frustrated.  Knowing that Thanksgiving is coming and many relatives will look through my cupboards helping to get dinner on the table, the risk of them finding evidence of its night life had me in a hurry to see this guest gone.  Well, the Lord is awesome and in His mercy, not only allowed me to capture my prey but did so in typical, love for me, fashion.  How, do you ask, could I assume the Lord timed the capture?  Simple, mice here are very cute, yes, cute.  They are very ,very small and brown/gold.  Last night as I watched TV I heard the tell tale sound of little mouse teeth trying to eat through a metal gate.  I jumped up, checked the trap, and was thrilled to find my now confined guest.  She came over to the hole I was looking through and held the bars with her very small hands.  She looked so cut, I decided to put her in one of our temporary pet cages and keep her at least until morning.  As I released her into her more spacious accommodations, I couldn’t help but notice how over weight she seemed.  Being that winter is quickly approaching and that she has had free range in my kitchen (dirty dishes in the sink would have been a huge banquet) the weight could have been due to  fattening up for the winter but I hoped there was more.  This morning I checked on my guest and found she had made a nice little nest under the dirt, up against the glass.  Later as I went to show her to my children, Aubrey noticed something very cool.  Our mouse was now mice.  Sometime this morning, my little guest had her brood of babies.  I am sooo excited.  Sadly, she is stuck in a less then ideal cage, until her babies are big enough to be moved into a clean wood-chip enclosure.  We are thrilled to have been able to enjoy her big day and look forward to playing with her young.  Now, you must acknowledge the Lord’s hand in this.  First, the mouse was caught with enough time before Thanksgiving to clean all evidence.  Second, she was pregnant (I love the whole birthing thing).  And third and probably most important she was STILL pregnant when captured).

Here she is in her temporary home.  I am sorry it is so blurry, I don’t want to upset her too much and it is very hard to take a picture of such a small mouse with her miniature babies, through glass.  She is in a 10 gallon glass tank with a metal screen cover.  It is “decorated” with 2 live plants and a pond type water dish.  Hopefully, in a week or 2, I will move her into another 10 gallon tank with pinechips and a regular rodant water bottle.

Dear Lord, I thank you for all the wonderful creatures You have provided for our joy.  From the intricate beauty of a butterfly to the enormous beauty of a mountain range, from the hilarious antics of a mouse to the great feats of streangth by elephants, and all the amazing variation in between.  Thank you for allowing us to share in this moment of new life within the animal kingdom.  Amen