Spring cleaning

Now I know that what I'm about to post will probably not go over really well with a lot of you... and it is only tangentially related to food. But Joe decided to straighten up our back porch this morning -- since my parents are coming tomorrow. In one corner there was a white sheet bundled up... from when I covered my plants during the cold snap -- er two months ago --(See Jennifer, I really don't like to clean!) In addition, there's a giant green tarp that we used to wrap our couch during our move to Kentucky -- uh, 1 1/2 years ago. We didn't want to throw it away, but once those things are unfolded they can be pretty cumbersome and tricky to fold back into a manageable shape.

Well. I put the sheet in the washing machine and as I extracted several pieces of moss from it, I wondered if there had been a little bird fixing to make a nest there. When I came back outside, Joe was moving the green tarp out of the corner to sweep.

Then he started. I turned to look where he was looking. And we saw:


I think the usual reaction for a girl who meets a mouse in an unexpected place is to shriek. And I can almost hear a collective groan from moms and aunts across cyberspace. But I squealed with delight and ran to get my camera. I can't help it, I think he's adorable. And confused. His prolonged pondering made him even more amusing. He could have run along the fence to freedom. The way was wide open. But he seemed to think that we would get him somehow. Then he considred rebuilding the little nest we'd wrecked, gathering the grass and moss in his tiny paws. Then, after attempting to scale the brick wall, getting stuck in a cob web and skittering in several quivering mouse circles, he did the unthinkable.


He ran straight at me.
Over my bare foot.
And into the neighbor's yard. It was the funniest thing ever. And I really wish I was quick enough on the draw to get that mouse-on-foot photo, but I guess I really have a lot to learn as an amateur nature photographer.
Once the mouse was gone we noticed a big black widow spider was hanging next to a huge yellow egg. While Joe bashed its brains out with the broom, I slipped back inside before another creature decided to escape via the Emily Foot Highway.