The Mother That Wouldn't Give Up

This is the storage shed we told you about here at the host site at Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery. We have found we have to be a little more careful than we had been with what we put in the shed.

A mother field mouse wants to use the shed as her nursery! Early last week we found a mouse nest—about 7 inches in diameter—on the outdoor rugs we had unrolled on the floor of the shed. We put them there to dry out and planned to use them next to the RV when it stops raining. Mother Mouse liked our rugs. But we picked her and the nest up on a large shovel and moved it outside. We also moved out everything made of cloth so she couldn't chew up a blanket we use to wrap the king-pin stabilizer in when we travel and some towels the cats ride on in the truck.

Two days later she built a second nest, this one in a flower tray that had been left in the shed. We moved that out back.

Well, our persistent mother built a third nest, in the corner behind a plastic basket. This time we decided to leave Mama alone so she could have her babies and raise them. We do wonder how many baby mice we will have building nests in a couple of months.

Happy Mother's Day!