so tiny, so fast, so incredibly full of turds

"We'll hunt you down like the [miniature] rats you are!" my wife crowed. In her hands, she held a lettuce keeper. The lettuce keeper held one tiny mouse.

Yes, we caught another one.

This time, we were pro-active. My wife, for reasons unknown to those involved, decided to move the fridge a bit, just to see if the mouse would show. It did. She called me. We started moving the fridge and stove back and forth, removing drawers and such, until the mouse ran out from inside the stove and huddled in the middle of a majestic pile of rodent offal. My wife plunked down a plastic bowl over the little rascal. I ran for a manila folder and we both grasped the paper and the bowl and dumped the mouse into the lettuce keeper and promptly slammed on the lid. We ran for our coats (and the camera, I'm sure she'll post pictures eventually) and hopped in the car.

Releasing the mouse in our typical spot (three miles and several warm, inviting houses away) seemed a little cruel tonight. There's frost on the ground. It's going to get colder. We might get ice and snow tonight. But the mouse is an outdoor creature and god will soon provide a tasty meal for a marauding feline or owl.