Hello and a big welcome to you all, this week we are taking our natural inspiration from the saying, the devil is in the detail, as we look at a small mammal, the mouse.
Not a carton mouse but a real mouse and of the 38 different species worldwide. There are four true species of mouse and todays it is the Harvest mouse we are looking at.
This species of mouse has a long history dating back to the time of the Ancient Egyptians, some 3,000 years ago, where they were used as medicine. This mammal from the rodent family appears in Celtic beliefs where it was used to teach children that they should ignore small things at their peril. Small things can be very important and have a bit impact for good or bad.
Hence the saying the devil is in the detail, in other words check out that small print otherwise you may find yourself in trouble. They also connected the mouse to secrets, cunning, shyness and the ability to hide in times of danger.
The Harvest mouse is on the red list which means it is seen as near threatened in Britain. It is sad to see that it is viewed as at risk of extinction from our countryside.
Where it can be found in reedbeds, hedgerows, farmland, areas of long tussocky grass and woodlands edge. The Harvest mouse in now a protected species. They are mainly found now in England south of Yorkshire, where they feed on fruits, seeds and invertebrates like beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, snails and slugs.
The harvest mouse is the smallest of all British mice with a length of 5-7 cm with a tail as long as its body. They weigh in at 4-6g and live just 1.5 years.
They have blunt noses, short round, hairy ears and are covered in golden-brown fur with a white belly. Their long tail is almost hairless and is prehensile, which means it can use it like an extra limb. It is the only British mammal to have this ability, which makes them very agile.
The Harvest mouse often build their spherical nests among long grasses or in the hollow of a tree. They usually have 2 or 3 litters in a year if the weather is mild enough in December. Although normally they breed between May to October.
They will usually give birth to six blind, hairless babies called pups. They grow quickly and by 16 days they are independent. Having such short lives the reality is a female will only have one years’ worth of litters.
It is when we look at the Harvest Mouse in the myths and folklore, we see how important this small creature is. There are many examples of the Harvest mouse from the time of the Celts a Welsh story, where the mouse is portrayed as a shape-shifting wife of the magician Llwyd in the story of Manawydan (MAN-uh-wuh-dan) and Pryderi (Pry -deh-ree).
Most people know of the fable by Aesop, the mouse and the lion. Which took its inspiration from an earlier version from ancient Greece, which in turn took it from an earlier version.
In many cultures the mouse was associated with the human soul, where it had the ability to steal their soul. For example, in Germany where they believed a person’s soul left the body in the form of a mouse. If it was from a woman or child, then the mouse was white.
For reasons I have not been able to find out the souls in the form of a mouse spent its first night with St. Gertrude and the second with St, Michael, then the third with wherever it was to go.
The strange aspect to this tale is that the mouse is not stealing the soul just being a carrier and the second point is that St. Gertrude is depicted as being good. The patron saint of souls with a mouse as a symbol.
Whereas in the original tale of St. Gertrude she was called upon to drive away all rodents. This came about because the devil decided to try her patience when he took the form of a mouse and tore up her newly spun yarn, hence her dislike of rodents, even bats.
There are tales from Saxony and Transylvania that was told to children to ensure they slept with their mouths shut. The tale goes that the soul in the form of a golden red mouse left the sleeping child’s open mouth, which would result in the child never waking up.
Another tale warns never to move a person sleeping with their mouth open, as if the mouse decided to return it would be unable to find its way back in. This comes from a story of a miller who slept with his mouth open, the mouse ran out and a servant scared it off and tried to waken his master but unfortunately, he could not, and he never woke up.
So let this be warning, sleep not with your mouth open, and always remember to take seriously small things for they can be very important. Also, know that there are times to be brave and times when it is wise to hide.
This little Harvest Mouse needs help if it is to survive, some useful things you can do include, leaving some areas of long grass, do not use pesticides and plant an area of millet to provide food and nesting habitat, both in gardens and in fields.
Until next time remember to
Tread Softly upon this Earth
Join next week for another look at nature.
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