March 25, 2008

• It’s a Shrew Story

  Yesterday I caught a shrew. I did, she was taking a leisurely stroll through my kitchen, making her way here and there. This is not the first time the wild has invaded our house. It happens far more often then I like. It’s never fun things either, like rabbits or birds. It’s always bats or field mice, and yes, the occasional shrew. Cooper and I had just returned from the grocery store and one of our green bags was on the floor. The nosy little miss decided to snoop inside and I scooped her up and hollered for the kids to get the critter keeper.

  One thing I learned early on is that if you put something in a critter keeper the kids will automatically want to keep it… (Nope not going to happen!) So we sat watching the shrew. The kids fondly talking to it and suggesting names to each other and me planning her demise. I decided to do the easy painless thing, I would get Ben to do it.

   I yahooed and told him what I had captured and he said he would take care of it when he got home.

  So I sat, working in my photoshop and cruising the internet and watching the little shrew scramble frantically for her life, determined to find a way out. I told Ben he might not have to kill it, she might give herself a heart attack. I felt cruel and uncaring, and I wanted her dead! Ben suggested covering her with a towel so I wouldn’t have to witness her frantic scramble. 

  As I was covering the cage with the towel, something told me I shouldn’t do it. Who knows what scheming her tiny brain would do under the cover of darkness.  Once again I ignored that still small voice and took pity on her little soul, covered the keeper and shooed the kids way.

  All was quiet for awhile and I thought perhaps, she is resigned to her fate. I went back to work on my computer when all of a sudden the towel jumped into the air as the lid from the keeper popped open under it.

  I screamed like a girl, (of course) and ran to push the top down, but I was too late, a tiny shrew nose was peeking out from under the towel. I grabbed it hoping to catch her all of the time doing my icky ew icky ew dance. But she flew out of the towel and onto the ground. Still feeling threatened by the two inch piece of fur… HEY have you ever seen the teeth on those things?! I grabbed the critter keeper and slammed it onto the ground repeatedly screaming and jumping around while the kids yelled encouragement in the back ground, for me or the shrew? I’m not sure which.

  It was all for nothing, my dance failed to impress  as she fled the room living  to tell the tale of the crazy lady in the kithen.  I have never felt like Mr. MacGregor more then I did yesterday.

  

  • 8:51 pm
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