Critters

Yesterday, the kids were swimming in the pool so I decided this would be a great time to pull those pesky weeks growing so freely in the rocks as if they were planted with love. Making my way carefully around the edge of the pool, (now when I day edge, I mean walking along a 10" stone path that if I step off one way I'm in the pool - the other I'm in a sloping rock bed) pulling those thick green weeds. I get three-fourths way around when I find a pile of shredded fur and call over to my sweet hubby (who has been blissfully watching me balance the edging, waiting for the entertaining splash of my clumsy body into the cool water - just for the sheer joy of the moment) "hey, I think I just found a mouse hole!". A few more tugs at some pesky weeds and all of a sudden the earth under the rocks move. I quickly rise and half run/half fly away from the moving giant man eater mouse hole. I yell back, "it's definitely a mouse - you need to set some traps to catch it now!". Of course he smiles that handsome smile and cheerfully yells back, "where am I supposed to get mouse traps now - pull them out of my butt?!". Oh what a sweet talker he is. Of course, my not wanting to be out done with any sarcastic behavior, I whizzed past him into the house stating, "I'll get you some traps!".
[Now the day before while searching for another object, I just happen to run across a new package of mouse traps. Why?.. well I believe that God placed them there for me to find just for this moment, of course.]
I come back with my prize, stretch out my hand in one swift motion and gave him the package - so he can DO HIS JOB and catch those filthy, disgusting, creepy mice.
He laughs and without hesitation proceeds to add the ever-popular cheese bait to the traps and with great thought places those traps so they flank the hole and will catch the mice no matter which direction they emerge from their hole.

The next day (out of sheer gross curiosity), I go out to the pool to glare at the snapped mice in the traps that my mighty hunter set the night before. As I rounded the edge I was discouraged to find that not only did those horrible mice not fall for the traps, but that they managed to take the cheese right off each trap without tripping them. Now how do mice manage that?.. twice!

Later in the ,I decided to check on the traps again. (I guess to see if they would be stupid enough to trip the traps without food?.. I don't know why.) But this time the kids follow me. So here I am, with four of my kiddos, each of us balancing on the edge of the pool looking for mice. (Just doesn't seem smart does it?!) Well, we see the ground moving again and my teen son decides he is going to move the trap a little closer to the hole. When he reaches for one of the traps, he (mid reach) sees the biggest mouse we've ever seen in our lives just inches from his hand! We all about fall into the pool trying to escape this monster mouse yelling and tripping over each other, when in a flash we realize what we've just seen... not a mouse but a rabbit! The cutest little short eared rabbit - just trying to hid itself from all these crazy people yelling and failing their arms like maniacs. After we all recover (no we didn't fall in) and pass the, "ooh... isn't it adorable" phase, we realize this little bunny is inches from a set trap. So my son grabbed a long stick and set off both traps.
Now those cute, adorable bunnies can enjoy their home under the rocks, near the pool, a little while longer - without the dangers of the crazy, wild, two legged creatures trying to injure them.