Micecapades

Okay, after a couple days to rest the ol' wrists, I can continue the strange, but true story of My house guests--the deer mice. A unruly clan that took up residence in my basement last winter after my son broke out a window and nobody bothered to officially fix it. The piece of cardboard deftly stuck in, did not seem a formidable barrier for the ingenious , yet adorable, Deer Mouse.

Of, course at the time, I was unaware that I had to protect from these invaders, as I have never seen one around. Yet, last, Xmas, as I went down into the basement, (where everything unusable ends up for eternity) I noticed that the two bags of Chocolate coins that I had stashed amid other hidden Christmas gifts, were mysteriously missing. All, but for one strange piece of empty gold foil shell, that remained to mock me. "What the hell?" I asked myself. surely this is not the work of my kids. They are crafty enough, to dispose of ALL evidence of such a crime. Having lived in our home for close to two decades, and never seeing anything more than an occasional spider. My blame did not readily fall on anyone in the rodent family. But, then, I saw it. The tiniest of all calling cards from my wee vermin visitors. If I hadn't squinted--I wouldn't have seen it. The size of a poppy seed--a mouse dropping. Egads!!! But, I could not be sure. I could not definitively accuse an entire species of animal. So, I forgot about the incident with a bemused shrug.

Almost a year later, I was cleaning out some old clothing from some suitcases (on the other side of the basement, mind you.) When I unzipped a large plaid one-- I could not believe my eyes. Behold!! Before me-the entire cache of gold coin foils. amid a shredded sweater. I scratched my head. My previous suspicions now seemed confirmed. Yet I questioned myself. "How in the hell did they get these coins into this zipped suitcase? How did they drag over 20, rather large coins such a distance? (The equivelant of me hauling an unweildly chocolate filled Tobaggen a mile.) How did they so expertly peel the foil off of the chocolate? What else had they destroyed?" Yet how could I be mad at creatures that obviously understood about the joys of chocolate? I felt a pang of endearment. But, just as fast, a shudder of what would happen if my husband ever found out about my newly discovered, fellow chocoholics. .