Maybe it was all the cute Edna Miller books I read to my
children. “Mouskin’s Golden House” was their favorite. Perhaps it was Beatrix
Potter’s, “The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse.” Or maybe it was the Brambly Hedge
series. Or something by Arthur Scott Bailey. At any rate, our shelves are laden
with cozy, endearing stories about mice. And I love them.
However. When a late night visit to the chicken coop
revealed that there were 50 or more mice scrambling for cover at the flick of
the light switch, I knew serious action would be in order. A hole had been
chewed in the wood floor and feed was disappearing at an unprecedented rate. I
was just glad the rats weren’t back, but something had to be done.
We decided that we would place live traps in the coop and,
upon catching the mice, would move them to the field at the end of the
driveway. That way we would avert killing them and they would be deterred from
finding food and shelter with the chickens. After trapping nearly 100 in two
weeks, I am pleased to report that all three traps were empty this morning
allowing me to believe (though I have been scorned for my view that they won’t
return) that they have sought a home elsewhere and I have a clean conscience
regarding the demise of legions of mice.
I will say this, though. Even though I am hard pressed to
kill a mouse in the out buildings,
I have a no tolerance policy regarding mice in the house. The old lake
cabin harbored hundreds of mice over the years and I remember the smell and
sight of everything mouse. And suddenly, mice lose their charm and all out war
prevails. My heart is only SO soft.
CHOCOLATE MICE
4 squares semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs, plus 1/3 cup
1/3 cup powdered sugar
24 silver dragees décor for cookies
1/4 cup sliced almonds
12 pieces long red string licorice
Melt the chocolate in a saucepan. Stir in sour cream. Stir
in 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until firm. When
chilled, roll dough by tablespoonfuls into balls. Mold to a slight point at one
end for the nose. Roll dough in powdered sugar for white mice and chocolate
crumbs for brown mice. On each mouse, place dragees for eyes, almond slices for
ears and licorice for tail. Refrigerate for two hours before servings.
FARM MOUSE COOKIES
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Peanut halves
Chocolate mini chips
Black shoestring licorice
In a mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars.
Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to
creamed mixture. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour or overnight. Roll into 1
inch balls. Pinch one end forming a teardrop shape for mouse body. Place
cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press to flatten. For ears, press two
peanuts into each cookie near the pointed end. Press chocolate chips into dough
for eyes. With a toothpick, make a 1/2 inch deep hole for the tail in the
opposite end. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. When
cookies are still warm, insert licorice for tails. Cool.
CANDY MICE
30 Oreo cookies, halved
30 large maraschino cherries, with stems
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
30 Hershey’s chocolate kisses
30 almond halves
Red decorating gel
Split the Oreo cookies in half, reserving the half with
cream filling. Unwrap kisses and set aside. Drain cherries and dry on a paper
towel. Melt chocolate until smooth. Dip a cherry in chocolate until coated and
set it on the Oreo cookie half with the stem going sideways for the tail. Place
a chocolate kiss, pointed side out, on the opposite side of the cherry for the
nose. Place two almond halves on top of the cherry for the ears. Put two red
dots on the cherry body for the eyes.
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