Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
25th September 2021
Mouse in the House
It’s autumn. The leaves are turning colour, the mornings are misty, the evenings are drawing in … and mice are coming into the house.
It’s not the beginning of a poem, it’s fact. Annoyingly.
As a huge advocate for wildlife, I can’t help wonder if word has got around the wildlife world and as a result all sorts of furry and feathered beings just head for my garden and cottage in search of a ‘safe house’.
Outside this year I have had to deal with rabbits, voles, hornets and pigeons, and inside it’s spiders, moths and now mice that are threatening to take over. Walt Disney missed out on my life, it’s like something out of one of his films.
Obviously it’s one of the joys/challenges that comes with an old house, but if I’m not careful my beautiful stone cottage will contain more expanding foam than stone.
I was told that the spiders would eat the moths but I think they’ve made some sort of agreement, as that’s definitely not the case. So now the wardrobes and cupboards are groaning under the weight of cedar wood (soaked with cedar oil as an extra precaution) and the Henry the Hoover is groaning as his tummy is full of spiders.
Unfortunately Henry and cedar wood do little to deter mice and so my third choice of weaponry is a humane mouse trap.
In the past I have used a glass milk bottle propped at an angle of about 30 degrees with raisin and a little bit of water in the bottom – not enough to drown them but if their feet are wet they can’t get back out of the sloping bottle. It has worked but this time I thought I’d invest in a proper trap.
But the first night I set it up I didn’t put the back on properly so the mouse must have thought I was just serving up peanut butter as a treat. I then caught three more. I am releasing them about 200 yards up the lane, having read that you have to be careful as they will find their way back into the house. I was sure that was far enough. I’m sure there are teenagers that wouldn’t find their way home from that distance. But once I was up to mouse number 5 (and now I can’t get Mambo Number 5 of my head) I wasn’t so sure.
Further research and studies showed that mice have indeed found their way back to a ‘reliable food source’ (ie, your house) from a distance of 2 miles.
So I put mouse number 5 in a bucket – with food and water – and waited to see if there was indeed mouse number 6. There wasn’t. I took mouse number 5 three miles away to release him and still have an empty trap. So it looks like they might indeed be able to find their way back into the house from shorter distances. Although admittedly it wasn’t the best engineered or executed experiment.
And I have a sneaking suspicion mouse number 5 may be on the bus heading back as I type.
He’s Hilarious He’s My Brother
A friend, who runs a wonderful home-from-home boarding kennels (www.facebook.com/people/Penderi-Play-n-Stay) is helping my brother train his 12 month old Labrador, Fidget.
Every couple of weeks Fidget has a day’s training and a sleepover.
Prior to her stay last week, Karen texted my brother to ask him to bring Fidget’s harness and lead as she was going to take her to the park.
My brother’s response was, “Yes, no problem. It will be good for her to get out and about. Just don’t push her too high on the swings please.”
Berry Good Ideas
Blackberries are plentiful this year although I’m sure blackberry pickers are on the decline. As children, my brother and I spent many hours blackberry picking for my Nan and we were often up against serious hunter-gatherers with walking sticks adapted to pull down the best briars, all trying to get the best blackberries – the best, biggest, juiciest berries are always just out of reach.
Folklore advises that blackberries should be picked before the 12th October as Satan, who, having lost a battle in heaven with the Archangel Michael, was ejected from heaven on 11th of October. When he fell to Earth he landed in a blackberry bush and cursed all blackberries and those who ate them after that date. Some people believe the date to be the 29th of September and others say he did far worse than ‘curse’ the blackberries.
And did you know that Folklore also claims that the biblical ‘Burning Bush’ that Moses saw was a bramble bush and that Christ’s Crown of Thorns was made from bramble stems. These little green-then-red-then-black berries certainly do have a colourful history.
As well as the traditional blackberry tarts and crumbles, jams and jelly, have a go at pickling some of the little juicy fruits. This is the easiest recipe I’ve found but it does include fish sauce. There are other options online.
Combine 6 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp sugar, and 3 tbsp water in a jar, screw on lid, and shake vigorously until all sugar is dissolved. Add approx 6 oz blackberries and press down to submerge in liquid. Seal jar and chill for at least 4 hours.
They are excellent with cheese, over ice cream or even in a salad.
You can also preserve and use the unripe green ‘black’berries. Just toss them with a little sugar and an extra flavouring if you want to – vanilla, rosemary, or liquorice, work well – and let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours. You could also add honey, maple syrup, fresh fruit juice or alcohol to preserve them. Have some fun experimenting.
And remember blackberries freeze well. As well as jazzing up porridge, yoghurts and muesli they are also a great treat for the birds in the winter months. You will have feathered friends for life!
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