Whether it is a mouse or an elephant, a hummingbird or an eagle, a minnow or a whale, surely we should rejoice in God’s creation. We see the wonders of it on every hand, and we should not listen to those who say it is all due to evolution.
There are many wild mice which live in the ground, in meadows, forests and farmlands. The short-tailed field mouse, also called a vole, is one of these. Including its stubby tail it is only about five inches long. It prefers damp meadows where it lives underground. It can be a real nuisance when it eats the seeds of newly sown wheat fields and later devours the mature wheat heads. It also gets into barns and storage bins, and wise farmers keep several cats on hand to go after these pests.
Another variety is the white-footed or deer mouse. Large ears, bright eyes and soft fur combine with its white feet to make it rather cute. This one is not as destructive with much of its food being the seeds of wild plants, nuts and berries. It can cause problems in orchards by eating roots and tender bark. It makes its nest outdoors, storing food for winter and carefully cleaning every bit of it before putting it away. It is amusing to watch it eat, stuffing food rapidly into its cheek pouches with its forepaws.
The smallest of all is the Baird’s mouse, weighing less than one-half ounce and only four inches long from whiskers to the end of its two-inch tail. The grasshopper mouse is small, too, and helpful to man by feeding almost entirely on insects, including scorpions.
The outdoor pocket mouse, though tiny, has a long tail with a brush on the end, enabling it to jump three or four feet into the air. After filling its cheek pouches with food, it scampers off to its nest, packing the food away and rushing back for more. It wisely covers the openings to its runways while absent. Although wild, if caught and held gently this little fellow acts like a pet and likes being stroked with a finger.
Two interesting ones are the Japanese waltzing mouse that hops around in circles for no apparent reason and the singing mouse, chirping a large range of notes although not able to arrange a melody.
If space allowed there are many more that would be of interest. All are closely related, but the Creator has made each a distinct variety. How do you think they learned all these interesting ways? They did not need to learn them, because they are God-given instincts passed on from generation to generation. The Bible tells us all God’s creatures are always in His sight: “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat [food] in due season.” Psalms 145:1515The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. (Psalm 145:15).
He is looking upon you, too, as the Bible verse states: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:33The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3). What does He see when He looks on you?
ML-07/01/1984