A little mouse in the garden

It's been so long since I've written.. since the wedding. And now we have a wonderful baby prince in the family - 6 weeks old and on the edge of a smile! It all comes rushing back - the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, the relief at every little sign of growth.  A baby comes into the world with so much effort, demanding the world and devouring all leisure moments, yet softens all of life's sharp edges. Words can't express the complexity of this.. 8 pounds of mystery unfolding while everyone waits on the edge of their seats for a little smile, bursting with laughter at the slightest cheerful look in their direction.

This morning when I awakened the temperature was in the 20s.  Normally I try to shut down the pond on Thanksgiving Day, but this year Thanksgiving is late.  I made my coffee, fed the birds, and then decided to go out and shut down the drip pump.  This pump forces water through layers of shale to the side of the falls, then out over the surface so that it looks like a spring seeping and dripping over the rocks.   I lifted the large planter that I invert over the electric box to hide it, and pulled the plug on the little pump.  As I do so, I notice that on top of the electric box is a little pile of shredded leaves and fluff like milkweed seeds and dryer lint, all mixed together into a mess.  I realize that it's a nest.. and just as this realization hits my brain, movement draws my eye toward the pond net where a white footed mouse with large eyes is frantically clinging about halfway up the net.  Poor thing.

Now what.   It's too cold to get rid of the nest, but soon I will need to turn off the pump and get the deicer and aerater going.  I guess I'll wait until the the temperatures rise a little to do all of that and maybe he'll find his way back after the work is done.  It's a really smart spot for a nest..  warm from the electric, covered by the planter, and much better than inside our ski bags and boots like last year.