Of Gardening and Mice

Spring is the time for wildflowers, planting the vegetable garden, and mice.

Hoping to get an early start on this year's garden, I bought some starts for peas, lettuce, spinach, and artichokes. There are three raised beds with one sprouting chard and parsley from last year, another with a nitrogen-fixing bean nearing harvest, and an empty bed readied for the starts. The garden tools are kept nearby in a converted horse stable with garden gloves in a mouse-proof cupboard. This proved convenient not just for me but also a mother mouse who discovered the cupboard wasn't mouse proof and contained most excellent material for a nest: my gloves.

On opening the cupboard a gray object moves rapidly from behind a box and backs into a corner - with two baby mice still not fully disengaged from mom; she is in the process of giving birth. I changed my plans and ran for camera and surgical gloves. Momma was still hugging the corner when I returned and I was able to take a few shots before she ran and disappeared behind another box. A minute later she reappeared sans babies, scampered up the inside of the cupboard, and out through a very small hole. I then removed the box and ... no babies! I removed every item in the cupboard and looked at the bottom and sides of each object removed... no babies.

It is a mystery to me. I can only presume she was either able to reverse the birthing process or (gasp!), she ate them.