THE MOUSE WHO CAME TO SIT BESIDE ME...

 

I wouldn't have believed a story like this if it hadn't actually happened to me...

About two weeks ago on a Saturday night, I was alone in my bedroom here on the farm, just perusing the internet, when I heard a rustle from across the room. It didn't take me long to figure out that it wasn't "Lucky" - my sister's cat - because my door was closed and when it is, Lucky doesn't visit.

Not too long passed before I heard it again and saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I was quick enough spinning my head around to see that it was a tiny little mouse, hurriedly scurrying under the closet door.

What to do?

Mice are common everywhere, but especially on 150 year old farms. I refuse to set traps or put out poison bait (I'm an animal lover, but not fanatic), so I formulated a plan to get a plastic bucket, and then trap him if he came out again.

He did.

And he was FAST - he zoomed out to take a look at me and then zipped back under the closet door. So, I resolved to just sit here quietly on the bed and wait for him to scurry out again...and get close enough for me to get the bucket.

His next move was to dash like heck from the closet to under the bed, where I figured he'd pop out eventually and I could get him.

Well, about ten minutes went by without me making a sound, and I started to wonder what the heck he was up to when - and like I said, I wouldn't believe it if I heard someone spinning such a "yarn" - I both heard and felt a rustle RIGHT BESIDE ME.

I looked down...and he looked up.

He was sitting right beside my leg.

I didn't even know mice could climb bed covers, but apparently they do.

So I easily got him in the bucket and took a couple of pictures, then took him outside and released him.

I told my sister about it when she got home from work, and she didn't really believe me, but as God is my witness, that cute little mouse came up the covers to sit beside me!

Farm Pictures

PICTURES FROM AROUND THE DAIRY FARM

The "Mansion House" as it was called when it was built in the mid 19th century

Built in the late 1850's by a Mennonite farmer named Levi Horst, the farmhouse, as it stands today, was something of a showplace in the area. According to census records from 1870, old Levi was quite the wealthy gentleman-farmer. His property holdings exceeded US $70,000 (in 1870 terms...$million$ in 2012 money), and his personal assets weren't too far behind.

1849 "Brick end" barn - note the design (unique to every barn of the style built)

This unique brick design led, a couple of years ago, to the identification of the farm as the same one depicted in a painting by Charles H. Wolf c. 1870 - a painting that today hangs in the Folk Art Museum in New York City (a Sotheyby's associated museum: http://www.folkartmuseum.org/?p=folk&t=images&id=4145)

Although the same view today is nearly impossible to achieve due to tree growth, the layout of the buildings from the c. 1870 painting and the modern layout are remarkably similar. So similar that the historian who verified the identification of the farm was amazed at how accurate the painting was, and the fact that so little had changed in nearly 140 years!

A side-view of the "Little House", the first home on the farm that was used by the family while the "Mansion House" was being constructed. Today, it sits beside the main farmhouse as it always has, and plans are being slowly formulated to completely restore the structure to its original condition.

What would a dairy farm be without a farm dog? This is "Izzy", who is a real pro at keeping the cows in line, but who is scared to death of thunderstorms, and isn't ashamed to openly display her "chicken-ness" when one is approacing. Sure enough - and although we mere humans could not detect its advance - one hour after this photo was taken, a thunderstorm moved in!

One of the farms many red and white Holstein calves (no name for this one, as she came along before I started hanging out here and began actually naming the calves - more on "calf naming" procedures later)...

SOME GENERAL VIEWS