Messages In The Snow From A Mouse....

Cheryl armors up for the Cold Run..

Running in Fresh Snow.

 Another cold day,  but Cheryl decided to run anyway.   Thankfully,  the wind dissipated and the sun came out by the time we started.

With her Visor DOWN! 

Sometimes you see funny things long the run.   As fresh snow apparently fell last night,  it revealed all the activity that the animals,  normally absent during the day,  do under cover of darkness.

Fresh snow = Fresh Animal Tracks.

  There are the usual suspects:  Rabbits, Deer, Squirrels.... even Fox tracks!  But what really captured my eye today...were the mouse tracks!

Mice Tracks.... Looks like a Doodle!

IS he trying to write something?

Mostly because the tiny mouse ends up making lines in the snow instead of  the typical "connect the dots." tracks.  They dash out from
the tall grass.. for some reason...  Towards the sidewalk and back again.  I'm curious what exactly they are searching for. (most likely just seeds of some other food type.)

I don't even know what that means...

Finally!  An Almost word...   C-L-A-E-  I think...

But then I came across this little mystery.   At first,  I thought it was someone drawing in the snow with a stick.   But closer examination shows that it is a mouse track.   It looked like the mouse was trying to write something....   a hidden message, perhaps?    I can make out C-L-A-E-S on top.  And L-L-Y on the second row.   What does that mean???

Maybe this angle is better.  

There is no excuse for bad writing....

Now I have read a lot of bad essays over the years...  and this mouse needs to work on its spelling and penmanship if it seriously want to relay a thought or idea.   I should not be too harsh.   It is a mouse, after all.  And perhaps mice do not have access to the best schools or books.  It would be easy to blame the education system and the Mouse Unions for this problem,  but ultimately it is up to the individual mouse... There are plenty of resources out there to help the overall mice literacy rates.  Even if English is their secondary language.... But I Digress.

I don' have to speak owl to understand.

Mr. Owl's reply to the message.

There was one creature who, apparently, understood the mouse's message.....  Mr. Owl!    They don't call them "Wise Old Owls" for nothing.  And wisdom and education often go hand-in-hand.

Something like this... I imagine. 

See!  Education pays off!  

 An "Avian of Few Words", I don't have to read too much to understand what went down here.  The wisps of the Owl's wingtips in the snow as he flew off with his prize.  And THAT is why Mice need to learn Properly!  

Cheryl prepared for boredom.

And it is REAL!  

So now we are back home and safely doing what we normally do.   Cheryl read my Post yesterday and thought I made what we do sound "romantic."   Almost like a fantasy!   But the truth is actually stranger than fiction.  Here she is doing her normal "Unwinding" after a cold, 7 mile run.

What happens when I do this?    OUCH!

Petting the Tiger!  

And this is what I do.   It is no wonder I have scary looking hands.   The cat is NOT declawed and usually thinks my hands are toys.  Good thing he is not a Lion or Tiger.

Constantly working on their reading and language skills...

So if there is one thing to take away:  It is up to the individual to work on their own education.    There is a reason why mice are at the bottom of the food chain....  And dogs and owls have a solid footing in the their environment.  There is proof that a mouse can learn...  Just ask Ben Franklin.