In my usual state of bleary-eyedness this morning, making my husband's bento-box-style lunch, I caught something brown on the floor race past me and go into the dining room. At first it looked like some paper, but then I did a double-take and, to my sheer horror, realised it was a mouse.

It ran straight past the dog, who watched in disbelief as it ran past her legs ~ even though there is greyhound in her, did she make one move for it? Did she attempt to sniff it out in an "i'm-bigger-than-you" kind of way? No. She let it run past her, I squealed (great for the neighbours at 6.30am!) and she shot to her bed. The Husband ran after it with one of my bowls (a cheap plastic one, thankfully) and after destroying our dining room, we caught it. I believe it was probably a 'her' and probably just sheltering from the really bad gales we've been experiencing.

Thankfully my knowledge of British wildlife does extend to rodents, and with much ooh-ing and aaahh-ing can definitely tell that it's a Wood Mouse (Apodemus Sylvaticus) and not a horrid (that's a tad harsh and subjective...) House Mouse (Mus Musculus). Having caught it my husband took her down to the bottom of the garden, where I had seen a wood mouse previously, living near the compost heap, and released her. She shot vertically up two fences before diving off into the trees. Definitely the one that got away!

Now we really need to block up the hole that she used to get into the kitchen ~ but I'm just glad it was a good mouse, and found her way back to the great outdoors.