No Caffeine Needed

Sometimes I worry that I'll run out of stuff to write about. Silly me.

--------------------------------------------

My morning routine is to drag myself out of bed, put on my muck boots and a sweatshirt, and stagger out to feed the ponies before taking a shower and fully waking up.

This morning like usual I fed Cooper in his stall with his special grain and then got the buckets laid out for Tanner and Renegade. Their grain was running low, so half asleep, I was leaning into the grain bin to scoop some out when something shrieked and leapt at my face.

I yelled* and jumped back.

I stared at the bin as my body involuntarily shuddered. I looked at the tools in my hands, the scoop and a bucket, looked at the grain bin, and squared my shoulders. Let's do this!

The vague plan was to scoop whatever it was into the bucket and then release it outside.

Except that when I approached the grain bin for a second time, the creature again erupted in unholy shrieks and raced round and round the bin. There was no way I was going to put my precious face and arms at the mercy of this vile being.

The dogs started to go crazy, whining and trying to find the source of the shrieking. The dim light of the tack room gave no indication of what it was; it was just an ominous moving shadow.

I dragged the whole bin outside the barn, where I finally caught a glimpse of the monster.

Inside was the BIGGEST mouse I have EVER seen**. It stared up at me with its beady little eyes, clearly plotting my demise.

I didn't have my camera on me, but this is a faithful interpretation.

Once again I girded my loins and prepared for battle. I slooooooowly tipped the bin over...and then chaos erupted. Finch, no longer able to wait patiently, lunged halfway in and the mutant darted between her legs. Hobbes pounced, pinning it down until Finch turned around and rejoined the party.

I won't go into detail about what the dogs did then, but it's safe to say that the way they play with squeaky toys is indeed the way they kill live squeaky things. Surprisingly quick and bloodless though.

I feel a little bad for not mercy-killing it or at least holding the dogs back so it could escape, because even the most hideous of creatures is loved by someone***.

However, I am hoping that this was the famed beast living under the tack room that had been taunting Finch for weeks.

Maybe now Finch can have a little bit of peace...but I know I'll never be the same. Shudder.



Anyway, happy Friday!

---------------------------------------
* I am more than a bit proud that I did not scream like a little girl, but instead emitted a dignified lumberjackish shout. I've always wondered how I would naturally scream in a scary situation...haven't you?

** Edited to add: It was actually a RAT. I told myself it wasn't since it didn't have a naked pink tail, but then I googled wild rats later and it totally was a rat. EW.

*** That someone is probably only its mother.