I have always considered myself a packrat…I tend to save anything and everything I think may come in handy some day. This tendency was programmed into my DNA by parents who had lived during the Great Depression. How could I be otherwise? However, up until now, I had never witnessed the treasure that one tiny mouse harvested.

Quite some time ago, I was in my metals studio taking photos of various beads that would be used in a new project. The room is perfect for taking photos; dark, as it has no direct natural light and therefore allows me to adjust my camera and lighting set up to take consistent shots. It was late in the day and after setting up the shot, I decided to wait until the next morning to finish. Upon entering the studio the next day, I noticed that all the Delica beads remained as I had left them, but that an entire assortment of matte rainbow drop beads were missing from my pallet! I also noticed several nearby mouse droppings and thought, “This must be one hungry mouse to have eaten my beads.” I set a trap and the next night, Mr. Mouse winged his way to the great beyond where the gates of heaven are made of cheese.

It wasn’t until this morning that the entire story unfolded. We had promised our son-in-law my husband’s cross-country skis, which were stored in a corner of the metals studio. I handed my husband the skis, poles, and shoes. The soles of the shoes had been nibbled away, but the shoes were unusually heavy. My husband thought they were filled with BBs. And then it became quite apparent…I had noticed over recent months that my supply of metal shot, which I use is my jewelry tumbler, had been dwindling, but it never dawned on me that some busy little mouse would run from a counter on the other side of the room, steal mouthfuls of metal shot, and transport them to a pair of shoes hanging on the wall near a shelf fifteen feet away from the counter! And what did I find amidst the shot but the missing beads! Obviously, that little mouse liked small roundish, shiny objects.  Shown below is the stash he confiscated!