eek!

I consider myself to be a fairly tough bird.

I'm not afraid of black bear and can handle a cougar well enough. I'm not squeamish with spiders. I can crawl into a rat infested crawlspace even if it does tend to smell terrible.

I can muck out a chicken house and inspect a mutated duck to find out what sort of monster ate it. The realities of farm life can be harsh but so far I have managed them.

However, there is one critter that does bother me. I only just found this out this week. I'm not exactly afraid of it, just slightly freaked out by it. So it's more of a physical reaction, rather than an emotional one. I see the little grey whiskered face peeping around the corner at me and I immediately go 'eek!'

That's the standard reaction for seeing a mouse, right?

Two cute little grey mouses cuddled up in my spice cupboard should invoke a little sequel and heart palpitations. Shouldn't it?

I think it's just the suddenness of the unexpected visitors that gets me. I don't mind them if I expect them.

The mice invaded the house Friday night and they are wrecking havoc all over the house. We haven't been able to find them to kick them out yet.

I don't mind so much that they eat our food. Most of their leftovers can be fed to the chickens.

What really bothers me - and I mean REALLY

bothers me - is the thing that has me in tears right now, literally sobbing as I write this. It is the thing they ate last night. The mice ate my silk!

Not only did the mice find, mess up, poop in, eat a substantial portion of, and violate my silk fibres ready for spinning. The silk they choose to eat was my beautiful hand dyed, bamboo and silk fibre that I saved up for. I've washed it and managed to save most of it. But still... it's just not Cricket.

What vial creatures mice are. I can forgive them everything else - after all, they are just doing what mice do, it's very honest. But eating my silk! That is unforgivable!

This means WAR!

just as soon as I stop crying.