The clearing of a bushy area on my property produced an unexpected sight: two house mice. I have not seen a house mouse (or a rat) for sometime, but apparently at least a couple of mice were living in the brush on the now cleared land. Well, I prefer them outside rather than in the house.
The house mouse appeared groggy after abandoning the cleared area. I moved and released them into the distant woods. 
Rats in the Slocan Valley are really upsetting people. Lotta farmers in this area. Rats like veggies, apparently. And compost. We saw our first one far up the Little Slocan and were wondering how to handle it, since friends were saying they’re too wiley to catch. Two days later, I stopped worrying when I found it dead in the bottom of a bucket. Weird.