So, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I worked with my friend Alison to clean up our front garden. Yesterday dawned bright and sunny again so the girls and I decided to finish the work of preparing the soil and then plant some winter vegetables. Part of preparing the soil was adding in the compost from our handy dandy compost container in the corner of the yard. As I was reaching in for the fifth or sixth time to get some with my spade suddenly I saw movement. Not being particularly fond of critters I quickly and quietly got the cat and set her in there to do her thing. However, before she could successfully catch the moving prey, my animal-loving children came to see what the fuss was about . . . and here is what they saw:
Ok, Ok, I know he is really tiny and really very cute. In my defense, I wasn't sure what he was when I sent the cat in after him, it was only later discovered that he was a cute, tiny, furry little mouse. . . and he had a friend! Two for the price of one!
Of course everyone wanted a turn holding one of them, so each girl got a chance and we took these lovely photos. The girls named them Melchisedec (after the rat in "A Little Princess") and Mickey. One of them was quite active and kept trying to get away, the other (shown below) kept trying to play dead. He was a believable actor too until he was accidently dropped at which point he did his best to scurry away.
After lots of photos and cuddles I made the girls return the mice to the compost bin and closed it all up, thinking the little wee things would be safe from the cat.
After all, the girls had practically claimed them as pets. They weren't safe however, later that evening while we were eating supper Willow burst through the cat door with the prize in her mouth, so sad. This morning we found, unbeknownest to the girls, that Willow had successfully hunted the other one as well. Sniff.
I don't want to leave you with such a sad tale, so here is a picture of some of the tomatoes we picked. We're going to let the green ones ripen and then make some tomato sauce. We've had a banner crop of tomatoes, we've been eating them in some way, shape or form since we've arrived and still there are more to be had. Yum!
This is the cleaned up garden prior to planting - there is passionfruit growing on the trellis, parsley, still some tomatoes and pumpkin but then we added spinach, carrots, beans, lettuce and cabbage. Hopefully we'll be enjoying the fruits of our labor later this season.
Ok, Ok, I know he is really tiny and really very cute. In my defense, I wasn't sure what he was when I sent the cat in after him, it was only later discovered that he was a cute, tiny, furry little mouse. . . and he had a friend! Two for the price of one!
Of course everyone wanted a turn holding one of them, so each girl got a chance and we took these lovely photos. The girls named them Melchisedec (after the rat in "A Little Princess") and Mickey. One of them was quite active and kept trying to get away, the other (shown below) kept trying to play dead. He was a believable actor too until he was accidently dropped at which point he did his best to scurry away.
After lots of photos and cuddles I made the girls return the mice to the compost bin and closed it all up, thinking the little wee things would be safe from the cat.
After all, the girls had practically claimed them as pets. They weren't safe however, later that evening while we were eating supper Willow burst through the cat door with the prize in her mouth, so sad. This morning we found, unbeknownest to the girls, that Willow had successfully hunted the other one as well. Sniff.
I don't want to leave you with such a sad tale, so here is a picture of some of the tomatoes we picked. We're going to let the green ones ripen and then make some tomato sauce. We've had a banner crop of tomatoes, we've been eating them in some way, shape or form since we've arrived and still there are more to be had. Yum!
This is the cleaned up garden prior to planting - there is passionfruit growing on the trellis, parsley, still some tomatoes and pumpkin but then we added spinach, carrots, beans, lettuce and cabbage. Hopefully we'll be enjoying the fruits of our labor later this season.
1 comment:
Oooh! You're much more of a WOMAN than I am! I could not have let my children handle the furry little creatures, and for sure, I would not have been able to take pictures of them. I'd have been sitting on top of the counter, calling my husband to come home!! You go girl!! I love reading about your adventures!!
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