A tale of mouse butts

If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound?
The answer is, “yes”. Yesterday afternoon Kevin and I were minding our own business up in the house when we each heard a tremendous boom. He stepped out on the deck, and I ventured out the front door. We looked at each other quizzically. And then went back to doing what we’d been doing. A few minutes later our neighbor knocked on our door. “Did you hear that big crashing noise? It was the tree at the base of your driveway.”

This beauty.


In October of 2010, I held my point and shoot in that hole and pointed up

Daylight!
It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m just glad nobody was hurt.

Someone did lose their home, though:

This little sweetie, perched in a sapling right next to the stump. Our neighbors’ dogs, Baxter and Molly, could not have been more delighted at the whole affair. They each went in and out of the tree from both ends.

That’s Baxter’s butt in there. They barked at Kevin when he wacked away at it with a maul. They stared up into the sapling to salivate over the prospect of a mouse snack. Then they got even more excited by the chainsaw! OH BOY!

Not shown: Molly barking her fool head off. But the blade – due to be replaced in any case – was no match for the job. We were able to move enough loose pieces out of the way to make both the main drive, and our driveway, passable. Our neighbor’s got a tractor – always a good quality in a neighbor – and he’ll drag it away tomorrow. In the meantime…

…mousy looked on from his perch. This view of a mouse butt is actually foreshadowing today’s adventure.
So this morning, on my way to the hospital (I’m a volunteer – I give Reiki to chemo patients), a mouse suddenly appeared on my dashboard. Inside the car. Oh. Hello! I pulled over and opened the passenger door a crack. It frantically ran towards the driver’s door. I opened the driver’s door. It scurried back to the passenger side and hopped out, clinging to the edge of the door right by the mirror. And then I flicked its cute little butt with my index finger. Buh bye!


In other news that does not involve mouse derrieres, the sumac is changing colors…

Maggie guards the entrance to the garden shed…

Lichens continue their colonization of Planet Boulder…

Siberian Iris have set seed long ago, but haven’t yet released their treasures…

The view from the ridge in back of our house (trailhead’s less than 3 miles from our house): the foliage hasn’t changed yet. But it will.

And two points to whoever can guess what this is. Hint: we’re near the woodpile.