Dear Mother Nature,

Dear Mother Nature.

Hmmm... 

Now should that be Mother or Mrs?

Hmmm...

Methinks Mother sounds best.  I'm not sure she's actually married.

MOUSES!

So let's start this thing again.

Dear Mother Nature.  It's fall.  It's October.  This here is Canada.  MOUSES!

That should do the trick.  Now to stuff my letter in an envelope, slap an old stamp on the thing, and get it mailed off, lickety-split.

MOUSES!

On the other paw...

On the other paw, perhaps I should elaborate a tad further.

Hmmm...

Dear Mother Nature.  It's fall.  It's October.  This here is Canada.  DID YOU FORGET?  MOUSES!

There!  Done.  At least on my end, it is.

MOUSES!

But on the other paw...

But on the other paw, I know, first paw, how ridiculous it is for someone - like a peep - to ask me if I forgot somethin' when I forgot somethin', BECAUSE IF I FORGOT IT, I've probably forgotten I've forgotten it, so even though I have forgotten somethin', I'll be darned if I can remember that I've forgotten it, never mind remember what it is I've forgotten.

Or somethin' like that.

Kinda like tellin' someone to look up how to spell a word you can't spell in the dictionary.

MOUSES!

So I'll take a stab at this once more.

Dear Mother Nature.  It's fall.  It's October.  This here is Canada.  DID YOU FORGET?  Did you forget that 'round about now it should be gettin' chilly?  Chilly enough for summer flowers to die back, and leaves to fall and get raked up, and gardens to be put to bed before winter?  AND CHILLY ENOUGH for kitties to actually WANT to snuggle under blankies and get cuddled up by cuddlin' kinda peeps?  DID you?  MOUSES!

Okay, I think that covers all my bases.

Oh, I know!

PS.  Don't bother replyin' to this letter by sendin' ME a letter.  Just get to work with the onset of fall, please.  Fall...  Autumn...  Whatever.  MOUSES!

PPS.  Please don't tell Peepers I'm the reason for the cooler weather.  I mean, I'm pretty sure she wants to get crackin' with the puttin'-the-garden-to-bed business, but you know peeps: they're fickle.  One minute they're complainin' it's too warm for this time of year and how first frost is later than ever, and goin' on about global warmin' and climate change, and extreme and scary weather; and the next minute, they're all up in arms 'bout it bein' too cold.

PPPS.  Hope you're not a peep, Mother Nature.  If you are, please don't take my peeps-are-fickle comment too personally.

PPPPS.  Actually, now that I think about, the complainin' about weather might be more of a Canadian thing.

Hmmm....

PPPPPS.  Mother Nature, if you're a Canadian, please don't take offence to my...

Nah, I'd best leave it at that.  No need to stick one more paw in my mouth.  There might be a couple in there, already!

If you know what I mean.

MOUSES!

got rakin' to do

Hey Peepers, you think you could get off your stupid, lazy ol' tail and rake some of those leaves out on the driveway?

Peepers?

PEEPERS?

Hmmm....  She isn't answerin' me.  Wonder if it's 'cause I said she had a tail.

MOUSES!

So anyway...

So anyway, fall is here in Nova Scotia and the leaves on the trees are changin' colours like mad.  Yup, leaves that were once green are now red, orange, gold, and brown.  Looks quite pretty out there, it does.  Yup, looks quite pretty, for sure.

But do you know what else those leaves are doin', my friends?  What they're doin' other than lookin' pretty, I mean.

They're fallin'.  Yup, they're fallin' right down to the ground.

Guess that's why they call it fall.

MOUSES!

The driveway is just about covered with 'em now, and Peepers needs to get out there and do some rakin'.  If she doesn't rake soon, I won't be able to even see the driveway for all of those leaves, and this is a problem of great magnitude, for sure.  You see...

You see...

Well firstly, the neighbours are probably 'bout to complain.

But secondly...

Secondly, I'm about to complain, too, and my complaints take precedence over those of the neighbours, to be sure.

And why am I about to start complainin', you ask?

Well...

WELL 'CAUSE I'M SICK AND TIRED OF HEARIN' SAFFRON COMPLAININ' HE CAN'T PLAY ACORN HOCKEY OUT THERE ON ACCOUNT OF ALL OF THOSE STUPID OL' LEAVES.

MOUSES!

And what's more...

What's more, have you ever gone to lie on a warm sunny driveway right in the middle of the bestest of the best sunpuddles you ever did see only to find that not only was that sunpuddle not warm - on account of leaves not holdin' the heat like black asphalt does - but it was actually cold and wet from a bunch of soggy ol' leaves?

Well let me tell you somethin', my friends, NO kitty wants to think they're about to enjoy the bestest of the best sunpuddles only to find he has to go right back inside to have a good wash and get all dried off.

No, it didn't happen to me.  Happened to Saffron, though, and not only did I have to listen to all the complaints 'bout his not bein' able to play acorn hockey out there; but I had to listen to him complainin' about his fur gettin' all messed up, and the sunpuddle bein' so disappointin', too.

It was unbearable, for sure.

My havin' to listen to all Saffy's complaints, I mean.  The fact that his fur got all messed up is of absolutely  no consequence to me.

MOUSES!

**********************

And remember:

IF IN DOUBT,

DON'T. GO. OUT.

Continue to practice SOCIAL DISTANCIN' measures

AND KEEP WASHIN' YOUR PAWS.

MOUSES!

Remember to mask up, too.

not fair

 

It's not fair, I tell you.  IT'S NOT FAIR!

Did you hear me there, Peepers?  DID YOU HEAR ME?  Were your ancient, old-as-the-hills-and-various-extinct-species-of-dinosaur ears capable of hearin' what I said?

IT'S NOT FAIR!

Awww...   MOUSES!

It's a BEAUTIFUL day out there...

Okay, so it's a little dreary and the ground is still wet from last night's rain and the weatherpeeps are sayin' we might have boomies this afternoon, but...

BUT RIGHT NOW, THE SUN IS SHININ' ON AND OFF AND THE TEMPERATURE IS SUPER DUPER MILD AND...

And that, my friends, is a beautiful day.

'Specially for October in Canada.

MOUSES!

But you know what?

Well I'll tell you what's what.  I'll tell you what's what right now.

I, SEVILLE THE CAT, CAN'T GO OUTSIDE.

MOUSES!

And WHY?

Good question.  In fact, I asked ol' Peepers that very same question, myself, a few minutes ago but her OLD-AS-THE-HILLS EARS had selective hearin' and I got NOTHIN' but grief for my troubles.

She says...

Get this - 

There are rockies in the backyard.

MOUSES!

Rockies.  In MY yard.  Interruptin' my beautiful day.

MOUSES!

But...  But...  But...  But what's a couple rocky raccoons?  We have a big backyard.  I know how to share!

What's more, I KNOW to stay away from 'em.  Just 'cause peeps don't know how to keep their distance from others doesn't mean we cats don't.

MOUSES!

They're just lookin' for snacks, Peepers.  They're bulkin' up for winter and tryin' to eat as much as they can.

You know, like you, when...

WHAT?  What did I say?  Don't blame ME for tellin' the truth.  I saw that bag of potato chips.

And FYI, Peepers, Family Size means for a FAMILY.  A family of more than one.

MOUSES!

And it's not like raccoons and cats are natural born enemies, anyway.  We have an agreement, you see.  We each keep to our own, and don't bother one another one bit.

WE KNOW HOW TO SOCIAL DISTANCE.

Peeps could take a lesson from that.

MOUSES!

AND...

AND MAYBE...

MAYBE those rockies are wantin' some of your chips.

EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?

There, that's settled then.  Peepers, you go give that rocky family your FAMILY SIZED bag of chips, and while they're busy munchin' on those I can go outside and enjoy my beautiful day.

MOUSES!

 ***********************

And remember:

IF IN DOUBT,

DON'T. GO. OUT.

Continue to practice SOCIAL DISTANCIN' measures

AND KEEP WASHIN' YOUR PAWS.

MOUSES!

Remember to mask up, too.

what a mess

"What a Moused-up, Mousin' Mess.  MOUSES!"  Kickin' an acorn across the driveway, I noticed some squirrels huddled together, chatterin' to themselves.  "Hey!  Yeah, YOU!" I cried.  "What the mouses are you lookin' at?  What business is it of yours?" and I kicked another acorn, just for good measure, before turnin' my back on the squirrels and stompin' toward the house.

"Hey PEEPERS!  You need to get out here, right now."

The peep came runnin', thinkin' one of us cats was hurt or somethin', I guess.  Either that or she was tired of listenin' to Peep #2 blather on about somethin' unimportant.  In other words, somethin' not pertainin' to us cats.  MOUSES!

"What's the matter?" Peep #1 asked.  "What's wrong?"

I stared at the peep.  "Can you not SEE what's wrong?  LOOK ABOUT YOU, WOMAN.  Just look!"

The peep looked, but I could tell she didn't understand.  I could see wheels spinnin' in that ol' head of hers, but they were just spinning 'round and 'round, kickin' up nothin' but dust.  MOUSES!

"JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS!" I yelled.  "Even the squirrels are mockin' me on account of the mess."

"The squirrels are mocking you?" the peep asked.  From the tone of her voice, I was thinkin' she didn't believe me.

"Oh yeah.  I can tell," I told her, noddin' wisely.  "I, Seville the Cat, can ALWAYS tell when squirrels are mockin' us cats.  Their chatterin' goes up an octave, you see.  It's a TOTALLY different chatterin' sound, for sure.  And let me tell you somethin', Peepers: I don't like it.  I don't like it, one bit.  And let me tell you somethin' ELSE, Peepers: That mockin' chatterin' is ALL YOUR FAULT, for sure.  MOUSES!"

The peep looked dumbfounded.  In other words - or in ANOTHER word - NORMAL.  MOUSES!

"So uh..." and I absentmindedly kicked at another acorn.  Where the mouses all the acorns were comin' from was a mystery, for sure, but I didn't ask the peep, on account of my havin' much bigger issues at paw.  "So Peepers, exactly what are you gonna do about this mess?  Huh?  HUH?  Might I suggest a clean up crew, perhaps?  I'm thinkin' you might need a dozen guys or so.  Maybe two.  Two DOZEN, that is.  This is WAY too much mess for just two.  MOUSES!"

"Seville..." and the peep screwed up her nose.  "What on earth are you talking about?  Where is this MESS you're going on about now?"

I rolled my eyes.  "EVERYWHERE!" I cried.  "Here.  There.  EVERYWHERE.  Someone must have come along last night and dumped bags and bags AND BAGS of wet, soggy, mushy, icky leaves all over the ground.  Not to mention a truckload of acorns.  And then there's the potting soil..."

The peep held up a paw.  I mean, hand.  "We'll get back to the leaves in a moment," she said, "but what's this about potting soil?"

"Did I not mention the leaves are all wet and soggy?"

"Yes, you did mention that.  But what's this about potting soil?" she asked, AGAIN.

"Did I not mention they're slippery?  The leaves, I mean.  They're VERY slippery leaves, indeed."

I could see the wheels turnin' inside her head again.  Literally.  Yup, I could LITERALLY see the wheels turnin', on account of there not bein' much brain in there to hide the hamster - or whatever the little guy is - runnin' around on that rodent-sized wheel in there, makin' it turn.

"Do you mean..." began the peep.

"NOW you're thinkin'," and I clapped my front paws together.  "Yup, I can see the smoke comin' out of your ears, now.  Be careful not to overtax that brain of yours though, Peepers, 'cause you don't want it to overheat."

The peep thought for a bit longer before speaking again.  "Seville, are you trying to tell me that you slipped on some wet leaves while dragging around a bag of potting soil, spilling said potting soil all over the driveway?"

"Is that not what I said in the first place?"  I stared at the peep.  "You're pretty slow on the uptake there but, yeah, that's exactly what happened."  I shook my head in dismay.  "Sometimes I think I have to spoon feed you information, Peepers.  It's amazin' you can even get yourself dressed in the mornings.  MOUSES!"

The peep sighed.  "So what do you expect me to do about this...  mess?"

"I already told you.  A clean up crew is what we need.  And make it a big one, too."

"Exactly how much potting soil did you spill?"

"Not that much, really.  But you need the crew to clean up the leaves, as well.  Like I said, SOMEONE came along in the middle of the night and dumped TONNES of leaves all over the driveway, and the garden, and everywhere else.  You'll probably want to call the police in to investigate, but you need to organise that crew for the cleanin' up, right away.  You know, before I go and slip on the leaves again, and..."

"Seville..." the peep began with a sigh.

You know, I thought I detected a hint of exasperation in her voice.  Not quite sure why, though.  She sounded like she was gettin' frustrated by somethin' but for the life of me, I had no idea what.  I mean, it's not like SHE was the one who slipped on those slippery leaves.  Nor was she the one at whom those squirrels had been chatterin', either.  Spotting another acorn on the ground, I whacked it with a paw.  I watched as it rolled toward the peep, stoppin' a few inches from her feet.

"You were sayin'?" I asked.

"Seville, no one dumped tonnes of leaves in our yard."

"Au contraire mon frère...  I mean, ma peep.  Hmmm...  How do you say Peep in French, Peepers?  Could it be, Peep?" I asked, usin' a French accent.

"Seville..."

And there was that exasperated tone again.  What WAS her problem?  MOUSES!

I held up a paw.  "Peepers, someone CLEARLY dumped all these leaves..."

"No, Seville," and the peep interrupted me, VERY RUDELY, I might add.  "No one dumped any leaves.  "It's fall.  Autumn.  The leaves fall in the fall."

I screwed up my nose.  "Well why are they all wet and slippery, then?  You have an answer for THAT, Miss Know-it-all Fancy Pants?"  Why I added the fancy pants bit at the end, I have no idea.  Just sounded good, I suppose, but the truth was, the peep's pants were anythin' but fancy.  MOUSES!

"Because it rained, Seville.  The leaves fell from the trees, and then it rained.  A lot.  It rained for two days, non-stop, then rained a bit more, yesterday, and..."

"And the fallen leaves got all wet," I concluded.  "Interestin'...  Well I suppose there's no need to call in the police, then."

"No, there's no need for the police."

"Okay, Peepers, but..."

"But what?" she asked.

"But where are you on that clean-up crew?  We've still got a big ol' mess to deal with, and I'M not gonna clean it all up.  You best get on the phone, now.  I'll go check the garage to see how many rakes and things we have.  And uh..."

"And WHAT?" the peep asked.  She closed her eyes, probably not wantin' to hear my answer which was Super Stupid on her part, 'cause when you think about it, one hears with one's ears, not one's eyes, and as far as I could tell, her EARS were still wide open for hearin'.  MOUSES!

"And some shovels and stuff.  You know, for the potting soil."

"How much potting soil did you spill again?  And why were you dragging potting soil around in the first place?"

"Meh...  Potting soil...  Top soil...  A bag or two...  A dump truck's worth.  Po-tay-toes, po-tah-toes, Peepers.   Po-tay-toes, po-tah-toes."

The peep let out a loud sigh.

"Oh, and uh...  Peepers?"

"YES..."

"Um...  Never mind.  I'll tell you 'bout the other stuff, tomorrow.  You know, when those plumes of smoke have stopped comin' out of your ears.  MOUSES!"

where are you now?

Oh.  My.  Mouses.  MOUSES!

Where is it?  WHERE IS IT?  MOUSES!

Is it inside?  Is it outdoors?  Is it...  Is it in my office?  On my right?  On my left?  In front of me?  Behind me?  Where? WHERE?  OH MY MOUSIE MOUSIN' MOUSES!

Oh for mousin' out loud.

Ah-ha!  I've got you now.  I know where you are.  I'm comin' to get ya.  I'm...

What the mouses?  You're not there.

Wait a minute.  Now I've got you.  You're over here.  You're here, in this corner of the room.  You're...

You're not here?  MOUSES!

So if you're not over here.  And you weren't over there.  You're...

WHERE ARE YOU?

You have some kind of stereo system goin' on, allowin' you to appear to be in two places at the same time?  Or are you throwin' your voice?  Or are you...

MOUSES!  MOUSES!  MOUSES!

PEEEEEEPERS!  Peepers, I need your help.  It's drivin' me mad.  It's drivin' me nuts.  It's drivin' me nuttier than the nuttiest of squirrels.  It's drivin' me crazier than squirrels makin' nut pies kind of crazy, for sure.  It's...  MOUSES!

I can't help it, Peepers.  I can't help but to stomp my paws in frustration.  I'm ready to explode like a bottle of pop rolled around on its side, shaken and shaken until one can shake it no longer.

No Peepers, I am not exaggeratin'.  I'm not exaggeratin' at all.  There's...  THERE'S...  THERE'S...

There's a cricket loose in this here office of mine, and it's hoppin' from one place to another.  Yet I can't see it sittin', nor can I see it hoppin'.  I haven't even seen it doin' a jig.  In fact, I can't see it at all!

BUT I CAN HEAR IT.

Wait a minute!  Did you hear that, Peepers?  Did you hear that cricket callin' my name?  It's over there now.  Can you see it?  Can you find it?  Can you find that dastardly cricket over in that there corner?  Over on that side of my office where...

WAIT A MINUTE!  Now it's over here.  Now it's over on this side of the room.  Now I'm hearin' it chirpin' and cheepin' and cheepin' and chirpin' and dancin' its merry little jig, while it fools me once more and...

Okay.  Calm down, Sivvers.  Breathe deeply.  Let me close my ears and listen very, very carefully.  It's...  IT'S... IT'S....

OH MY MOUSES!  IT ISN'T THERE EITHER!

It's not here.  It's not there.  It's not anywhere.  And yet, it's EVERYWHERE, to be sure.  It's...

Magic?  Peepers, can crickets be magic?  Could this be a magical cricket doin' some sort of ventriloquist's act right here in my office?

Or might there be two...

Could there be two dastardly crickets in this here office of mine, chirpin' and cheepin' and cheepin' and chirpin' and basically drivin' me mad?

Or possibly three.

Or might it be the smoke detector?  Smoke detectors are tricky like that.  You know, when their batteries are runnin' low and they start chirpin' like crickets who are intent on drivin' kitties insane.

PEEPERS!  WE HAVE AN INFESTATION OF SMOKE DETECTOR IMPERSONATING VENTRILOQUIST CRICKETS IN MY OFFICE!

What-oh-what should we do?

Or perhaps we have a cricket impersonatin' smoke detector or...  OR...  OR...

Peepers!  Where are you goin'?  DON'T LEAVE ME NOW.  Please-oh-please don't leave me here alone with this cricket.  Or crickets.  Or infestation of crickets.  Or...

PEEEEEEEEPERRRRS!!!!!

Now listen up here you cricket, you stupid cheepin' chirpin' cricket, you.  I've had enough.  I, Seville the cat, am ordering you to identify your whereabouts right here and right now.  I'm orderin' you to tell me exactly where you are.   And the longer you take, the worse off you will be 'cause let me tell you, I've just about had it up to my whiskers with your voice throwin' chirps and your...  YOUR... YOUR...


Awwwwwwww... 
MOUSES!

PEEEEEEEEPERRRRS!!!!!  Wait up! Wait up for me!!!  That cricket is drivin' me mad.  I can't stay in my office for one moment longer for if I do, I'll go crazier than crazy can be.

Why...  I'll go crazy...  Like YOU.  I'll go crazy like you, Peepers.  You know, I'll go your kind of crazy, for sure.

And we can't have now, can we.   MOUSES!

getting my ducks in a row

You over there, move to the left, please.  Nope, that's too far.  Move back a little to the right.  And you, You move to the right, too.  Just a smidge. Yup, yup, that's it.  WAIT, WAIT A MINUTE!  I didn't tell YOU to move.  You stay where you are.  You too.  You stay right there. No, no that's far enough. Keep still, would you? EVERYBODY STAY RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE!  NO ONE MOVE!  Okay, let's start all over again.  You, you over there.  You move just a smidge to the left.  Nope, that's too far...

What's that, Peepers?  What am I doing?  It's it obvious?  I'm getting my ducks in a row.

At least I'm trying to get my ducks in a row.  Gosh, this is harder than herding cats, for sure.

Peepers, you have any hints for getting these ducks to...

STOP THAT!  STOP MOVING ABOUT!  STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!

Oh Peepers, I could do with some help here...

I should have used rubber duckies.  Bet they would have stayed put and not been milling about like...

I said, STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!!!

What are you babbling about, Peepers?  Oh.  Really?  Are you sure about that?  REALLY?  Hmmm...

NOW she tells me.

Long story short, I have been informed that putting my ducks in a row does not actually involve the use of live ducks.  MOUSES!

Doesn't involve the use of rubber duckies, either.  MOUSES!

I didn't know why they all had to be in a row, anyway.  It didn't make any sense to me, at all.  Now geese, I could see.  I see geese flying in rows all the time.  Flying high up in the air in two rows, converging in a letter 'v.'  Yup, perhaps that old saying should have been about putting one's geese in a V.  MOUSES!

But speaking of geese, the Canada Geese will be flying over my house any day now.  It's true! They fly south for the winter, you see, and my house appears to be on an international flight path of sorts. Every fall, those geese fly right over me and my house.  And you know when they're doing a flyby because they honk up a storm.  Why, they honk like a bunch of irate drivers in a traffic jam. MOUSES!


But like I said, although I haven't yet seen those geese this season, I'm sure I will soon because you all know what today is, right?  It's the first day of Autumn.  That means it's time for the geese to start their journey, southward bound.

I've never actually met a goose.  Don't know why. Maybe my yard isn't suitable for landing or something.  Hmmm....

Anyway, autumn is here now.  It arrived today although it felt like it arrived two days ago.  Last weekend was hot and muggy and sticky-icky.  Just like summer, in fact.  But then all of a sudden, everything got a little chilly and the humidity left us behind.  Leaves haven't started changing colour yet but the other night, the peeps had to put the heat on. Could you believe it?  One day they have fans running and the next, the furnace.  MOUSES!

Another word for autumn, of course, is fall.  Fall...  The season of falling stuff.  It's true!  Leaves fall as do acorns and guess what?  They fall in the fall.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Only thing I don't know is which came first.  Was it the chicken or the egg...  Oops!  Sorry.  Wrong saying.  I meant to say, was it the season or the act.  Do the leaves fall in the fall because they think they should fall in the season called fall OR is the season called fall because the leaves and other falling stuff fall?

One will never know, I suppose, as the leaves aren't really talking although truth be told, they do rustle a lot and the wind is always whispering secrets and stuff.  I bet you anything those darned squirrels know a secret or two.  Bet those squirrels know the secrets of the leaves and all. MOUSES!

Squirrels love fall.  Ever notice that?  It's true.  You should see those big grey ones scampering up and down the big old oak tree at the end of my driveway.  They're looking for acorns, you see. Stashing them away for the winter.

Did you know that squirrels are the most forgetful of all rodents?  At least, that's what I've observed. I watch the squirrels living around here, a lot, and while I've been watching, I have discovered that they're always forgetting stuff.  Mainly, they forget where they stashed their acorns, you see.

It's true.  Every fall those squirrels stash their acorns all over my yard, in little bundles, and then Peep #1 finds little oak trees growing, in following years.  She knows they were planted by squirrels on account of their appearance in bundles and clumps.  A clump of oak trees here and another clump there.  Drives the peep crazy, for sure.  Crazier than a squirrel making nut pies kind of crazy, if you know what I mean.

Not that my peep actually needs to be driven crazy.  Believe-you-me, she already knows that road like the back of her hand.  MOUSES!

But I bet the forgetting of where they put their nuts drives the squirrels crazy, too.  Nothing worse than not remembering where you hid something.  Not being able to find it.  Mouses that can be frustrating.  So frustrating it will drive you to frustration, for sure.

I remember that time I couldn't find my favourite nip mouse after hiding it from my fur-sibs...

To tell you the truth, I STILL remember not being able to find my favourite nip mouse like it was just yesterday.  Not yesterday when I lost it but yesterday when it was still lost.  By gosh and golly, my favourite nip mouse is still no where to be found!

I sure do hope Peep #1 didn't throw it out because one of my fur-sibs peed on it or something. MOUSES!

But back to those forgetful squirrels.  Do you know what they should do?  They should plant their acorns all in a row.  Then they would easily find the darned things when they went looking for them, later on.

And I'm betting that putting one's acorns in a row would be a heck of a lot easier than getting those ducks to line up like......

OH MY MOUSES!  I totally forgot all about those ducks.  Peepers is going to be furious, for sure.  I know she said I didn't actually need to get them to stand in a row but I'm betting she didn't want them waddling all over the place and...

Hmmm...  If I spin this just right, I'm thinking I can get the peep to take the blame on this one.   After all, she IS the one who told me I didn't need to line them all up so really, if they are ducks waddling all over the place, it really is on her.  Yup, it's all on her, for sure. MOUSES!