Mouse pad

I reached close to 8,000 pictures in my iPhoto library and it was so slow I could take a shower in between opening it up and having them all load.  So today I have invested hours in going through them and deleting ones I don't need (gosh that is hard!) and then backing up those I must have forever and so on.  I came across so many great pictures, but this one just cracked me up.

Is this a keeper was my first question.  Then I was like, OF COURSE!  This actually happened and you can tell people that it did, but without the picture to back it up, it kind of loses its oomph.  This mouse was absolutely driving me insane one day.  This is not a family pet, this is a wild and crazy mouse that kept running all over my desk and then I could hear it running around on the shelves in the bottom, and I was greatly irritated.  (But not afraid, I mean look at the thing, is it not adorable?)

So I was going a little nuts, when all of a sudden it walked right out and sat on my mouse pad.  There was no one home, and let me tell you, this little guy was not in the least bit afraid of me either.  I had more than ample time to laugh my head off when he just looked up at me, and then even more time to get my camera and take a picture.  He darted around a bit, but he was truly attracted to the mouse pad!

So we bonded.  Cute little guy, but he wasn't listen when I said fine play away, but if you're going to hang around you have to stop popping out on my mouse pad because you're getting in the way.  But he thought it was great fun, so it became clear he wasn't going to disappear into the house and leave me alone.

So I found a box and pushed him into it, and then I took him outside.  It was a little chilly, but not freezing, and I went into the woods and let him go.  All the while as I walked back to the house I could swear I heard him snickering as he followed me back.  I didn't actually see him, but come on, let's all be honest here.  You can lead a mouse to the woods, but you can't make him stay out of the warm house!

Peter came home as I was outside and he asked what I was doing.  I told him I had caught and released a mouse.  He asked me why I didn't kill it.  I said I can't do that, he was cute.  Heck, if I killed every cute thing that wandered into my house he might not be around, did he ever think of that????  

He saw the box in my hand and he asked me exactly how had I caught a mouse in a box.  I told him that the mouse had hung out on my desk and it was quite easy, I just gave him a little nudge into the box.

Do you think he would have believed that without the picture?  I am not even sure he believed it with the picture -- I do have Photoshop.  BUT TRULY, this happened!!!  

The picture is a keeper.  But it gives you an idea of what I'm dealing with.  I  might have potentially a thousand pictures on sunsets alone.