Rambling Mouse

With all the barns, outbuildings and old farms around here, there's no need for our local rodent community to bother with new housing construction. There are oodles of servicable nesting spots, just a short scuttle away from plentiful food -- everything from spilled grain to brimming bowls of dog and cat food.

Yet one resourceful rodent decided that a house on wheels was the way to go. At least that's what my neighbor Liz discovered last week when noxious gas fumes permeated her car's interior.

The source of the smell: a hose beneath the hood was spurting gas in geiser fashion. In this case the vandal turned out to a be mouse, who left telltale chew marks in the hose and a cozy little nest in the air cleaner.

Perhaps this mouse had been outcast from the local colony and forced to make due with a mobile home. Maybe he was plagued with wanderlust and wanted an RV.

No matter, the mouse nest was razed and thanks to a $47 part, Liz's car is roadworthy again.