Animals are hunkering down for the winter, and the mice have built some really well insulated nests! These were found when lifting up various pieces of canvas that had been stored outside and were going to be used for a project...that is till the puffy spectacular mouse houses were discovered. This first nest was near a few colored tarps which ended up making it's nest speckled with brightly colored string. :) I like to think about how when our backs are turned the mice are pulling our fabric apart.
This second mouse nest was found under thicker tarp in a field near the pig pen. It had access to the canvas strings (or soft stuffing from the pig's blanket), hay & sticks.
Something to note about the way animals & birds build their houses is how airy, puffy and thick the walls are - and the way they weave into circles. These qualities are to insulate from cold winds - which originally baffled my trained human mind... I would have guessed without learning that the thicker tighter weave would keep me warmer, but it's not the case.Maybe the critters are onto something too- with their natural built temporary houses - I doubt they get very attached and when it falls apart they build the next one... without paying a penny.
XoXo
it looks like the mice teamed up to shave your opossum friend to build their houses.
ReplyDeletemake sure if you touch anything that has come into contact with rodents that you wash your hands well.
i almost lost my large intestine, liver and life when i was 10 due to a bacterial infection i caught from playing with baby field rats.
i don't think your taxed system would survive such an encounter.
i had secretly adopted them after a field mower killed their mom and destroyed their home after being told to leave them alone by my dad.
Hey Panne!
ReplyDeleteHOly cow- my parents always told me not to touch anything growing up unless it was scrubbed with 409 first and i figured 'cleanliness is next to sickliness' because I developed autoimmune.
You know what is wild is i never wash my hands, i touch everything, and i never catch any colds or flus or germ related sickness anymore. Sometimes the over active immune system takes care of all that- yet it makes you feel chronically run down in other ways.
I did however wash my hands after touching these nests because a few of the babies had died, i removed them and left the live ones for the mommy mouse to take care of. Last i checked she had come back to feed the live ones. :)
BTW- i thought the same funny thing about the possum looking hairs! lol