The best laid plans of mouse, woman, dog and cat…

By Liz on October 5, 2015

Robert Burns is given credit for the first use of the phrase that we often say as “The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry” – but his 1795 era wording is:

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley”.

That made me laugh when I looked it up… the “gang aft agley” part. Even if you are not up on 18th Century speak, the picture is quite clear… plans got wobbly, they went sideways…or south… off the rails!

So, following is the story of our Saturday through Sunday morning, when the plans of a mouse, this woman (me!), a dog (Bear) and a cat (Auggie) “gang aft agley”!

I started Saturday with a decision: KNOBS for the cabinet doors!

Next, I went searching for the missing tripod. This is a small house and more to the point, it doesn’t have many closets. I usually put the tripod in a corner of the boy’s room which is the first place I went looking for it. Then, I checked the few closets. I thought maybe it never made it in from the last motorhome trip, so looked there. It was not to be found.

More thinking required…

Next, Bear and I headed to town for supplies. It was mostly sunny, mid-50’s F. The air was that cool, crisp, clear air of Fall and the light was stunning…

…as was the scenery. It is once again very dry, but we got enough moisture two weeks ago to turn things green that ought to be green this time of year.

Between our outing, miscellaneous Saturday chores and generally enjoying the gorgeous weather, we passed the day in peace, harmony and good cheer.

I was getting ready for bed when I heard Bear jump off his chair and both Bear and Auggie scrabbling on the living room floor. This normally means a small rodent has invaded. The small rodent was a mouse. It ran from the living room into the bedroom, took a right through the bathroom and ended up in the “boy’s room”.

I followed Bear and Auggie and thought that between the three of us, we could catch and/or dispatch the mouse and thus have a restful night. This is the “gang aft agley” part. In Bear and Auggie’s defense, the wood floors do NOT work in their favor. I think mice have stickum on their feet and so they do not slide. For my part, on two legs, I am rather high up and on four …just forget about any speed whatsoever. At any rate, I left Bear and Auggie to it. Shortly after, Bear decided he was done with the slipping and sliding and Auggie was left on his own.

The mouse was quite vocal – it was a squeaker. I think Auggie had it cornered several times, hence the squeaking, but either Auggie was playing with it (I HATE that cats do this) or did not have opportunity for the kill. I closed doors to my bedroom, stuffed towels underneath and went to bed.

About 3:00 a.m., I woke to Auggie meowing to come in the bedroom. I got up, checked for a dead mouse, but didn’t find one anywhere. Auggie tends toward trophy hunting and what I was trying to avoid was being gifted with a dead mouse in my bed. Auggie came to bed and snuggled in next to me.

The next time I woke up, Auggie was gone. I ran to the “boy’s room” and more squeaking, so the mouse wasn’t dead or gone. I guess Auggie just needed a nap.

When I got up, with Auggie still keeping watch in corners of the boy’s room, I got the crinkly cat tunnel and set it in the doorway between there and the kitchen. My thought was that it would be enough of an obstacle to slow the mouse and allow Auggie to catch it versus it getting to another part of the house. That theory was never tested.

But the reaction of Bear and Auggie to the tunnel in the doorway had me laughing.

“Huh … I wonder what this is doing here?”

“It’s your tunnel, you tell me!”

“Ok, here I go!”.

Yes, Auggie, who is more than capable of leaping over the tunnel, used the tunnel as it was intended and exited that way.

Bear finally decided that he could jump it.

If I was better at taking video, it would have made a great little movie…

After I recovered from my giggles and snorts, it was time for a walk. I left the front door open and told the mouse that now was his chance.

Sunday was as pleasant as Saturday.

We dawdled and meandered and I very much hoped that the mouse ran outside to freedom while we were in the woods..

But, on returning to the house, with Bear and Auggie still outside, I started moving things to see …

Oh. There is the tripod – sitting quietly under the table that hold’s Auggie’s food. Now, I remember. I was tired of seeing it in the corner of the room.

I kept looking around and also found the mouse, alive, behind Auggie’s litter box. I don’t know if it was exhausted or what. It did not have obvious injuries, but it just huddled in the corner. I scooped it up in a dog poop pickup bag and tossed it outside. This is “gang aft agley” part 2. The mouse ran out of the bag, around the side of the house and back under the house via the mouse hole.

Ah, well. Maybe it went back to evacuate its family, or warn whatever community lives under the house. But, just in case, I set up the mouse zappers in the closets.

Meanwhile on the kitchen cupboard hardware front…

Yes, again with the dithering. I now have both knobs and pulls on their way and hopefully can decide when they get here.

*sigh*