Mouse

mice have moved in to our kitchen, following the warmth.

set a havahart trap last night and found a little baby one in it this morning. all head and tail and feet. it was watching me, wide-eyed, when i opened the cabinet door to check the trap.

brought it down the road, boy and i, and i sat with the trap door open for a few minutes as it got its bearings, as it met the outdoors, plants, earth. then in one large, clumsy hop, it left the trap, and scurried under the virginia creeper vines. i put a little pile of almonds on the ground near where it hid.

now i'm at home, eating my oatmeal, and a little creature, new to the world, is miles from its mother and her milk and their home.