little fatty poop machine and the search for the new nest

this weekend we decided it was time to get the compost heap in order. it has been neglected for quite some time.....and not by us. it was there in all it's confusion when we moved in. generally, it's been to have three or so different heaps of compost, in varying stages of decomposition. one bin for the ready stuff, one for the getting there stuff, and one for the new stuff. having one bin makes it difficult to turn the compost, to use the compost, and for the compost itself to be composted. we started with dismantling the whole thing- moving the large brush pile in front, taking apart the cinder block wall, rolling up the sagging wire, and shoveling slimy composting food onto a tarp. surprisingly, there was quite a bit of ready to use compost. so we built a cinder block structure for the ready compost, this will be spread onto the garden in the spring and then tilled in. then came the part where we got to use power tools. i was shown for the last time (because now i remember) how to get a drill bit in and out of the drill. i am apparently a faster learner than octipi as it only took me 4 or 5 times of being taught before i remembered......we (or rather- dirty) sawed up some wood planks that have been laying around rotting to make a two bin wooden structure. there were lots of complications when it came to actually drilling the screws in. 2-squares and 4-squares (um, phillips heads and.....the other ones....) screwing and stripping and all kinds of jealousies going around. but despite all that we managed to complete it all within three days....or so. amidst all the de and re construction there was the important discovery of a mouse nest. in our last apartment there was a mouse raid once. the mice did nothing but poop everywhere, so we started calling them little fatty poop machines. it was horrible because the pest man gave us not so humane traps. i was skeptical when i first met him and noticed the he had a bleeding hole in the middle of his forehead. the mark of cain? my skepticism increased when he started describing how they test poisons out on dogs with cancer. but all the apartments got these 'humane' mice food poison boxes. so we got some too. the next thing i know, these two mice are running around frantically all over the kitchen for the next couple of days. they seemed to only like the kitchen and didn't venture out to explore the rest of the house......until it came time to leave their little furry bodies. then they came into the bedroom, got onto the quilt and proceeded to have all the blood in their bodies squished out of them. i came home from work to a sorrowful site. needless to say, everyone had their poison mouse food replaced with live traps.

but to get back onto the subect at hand.....we had disturbed a mouse nest. after we took the compost heap apart we went inside for a bite to eat. on our way back out i noticed a little tail in my shoes (that i had left outside). the mouse was really active in there and i was getting a little worried that little fatty was living out his poop machine destiny. but it turns out he was just on a quest for a new nest. after exploring the inside of my shoes, he started digging at the outside or the shoes and trying to push it over. i just wanted to mention this because it was disgustingly cute......