A mouse

I pottered down the allotment today with a list of things to do including to remove the wooden frame within the greenhouse.

The chickens fed and one whopper egg collected (there were several smaller ones) I decided that the cleaning out of the coop could wait until another day. On my way out, I looked down and saw a tiny mouse. It didn’t run away when I got close. There was something not quite right. I went back into the coop and grabbed a handful of corn for it to eat. Slowly, it did eat some of the corn so I left it in peace.

I got busy with dismantling the wooden frame in the greenhouse which was helped massively by borrowing an electric drill from Neil. I got half of the frame down – some of the screws have rusted or are impossible to move. I gave up and went back to check on the mouse.

The little mouse eats some corn as it recovers

It was still there and had eaten some of the corn. Worried about it being exposed in the sun, I got it some water and put it next to it. The mouse didn’t really seem that interested. It was still sitting very still and not moving much.

I went off for a bit to clean the remaining glass in the greenhouse which kept me busy for another hour. The glass has come up really well, especially on the side which had the cage on. Mick the Greek has given us a large piece of wood to use to stabilise the side of the greenhouse. So that’s the next job. Then the glass can go back in the roof of the back of the greenhouse. I am still not sure whether it’s worth trying to put in all the panes and buy more.

Leaving this decision for later, I pottered back down to check on the mouse. It was still there and looked fractionally improved. The mouse was still really exposed and we have cats on site. I decided to use the quail nest box as it’s new home. I put some sawdust in the bedding area and a small pot full of corn and seeds as well as fresh water. I used an old ice cream box to transport it from the side of Phil’s plot into the quail box. It seemed reasonably happy to get into the box but it was more reluctant to leave it. I closed the lid and left it in peace. Hopefully it will be OK overnight!