Dormice

I am sharing my kitchen with at least one dormouse!  I know because s/he ate ¼ of a banana that was sitting out on the counter overnight.  This morning I saw it run down behind the stove. 

What do you know about dormice?  They are small (2 ½ to 3 ½ inches long).  Their tails are furry instead of scaly like mice we see in the States.  They eat fruit, berries, flowers, nuts and insects.  (I am happy about that last one!)  They are nocturnal, so I shouldn’t see them much. 

Ancient Romans thought eating dormice was a delicacy – they had them as an appetizer or for dessert (dipped in honey and poppy seeds).  They are still eaten in Slovenia.  No, I am not planning on trying them. 

 

In temperate climates, dormice hibernate for up to six months a year.  Their name actually comes from doreous which means sleepy.  I doubt they will hibernate here…  (Thanks to Wikipedia for the basic information.  Picture complements of helenslittlecritters.com and wildlifeanimalz.blogspot.com.)

I will have to find a way to convince “my” dormouse (and probably his/her family) to live outside instead of in the house.  I will start that process next week.

Today, I am leaving for Cameroon to take care of a number of tasks:  long-term visa, etc.  I will be on the road, but hopefully have regular Internet access. 

An interesting aside:  Yesterday, I went to the Sango Lutheran church which is walking distance from my house.  There were nine infant baptisms which I thought was a lot and a great sign of growth.  I heard about the Central Lutheran Church several kilometers down the street, though.  They had 60 baptisms!  Talk about growth!  All those babies, with only one pastor – that was a long liturgy.

Happy advent!