What would you do if you see a mouse running around in your house? Maybe you’d freak out or maybe you’d set a trap. You may also be enthralled to see it or maybe you’d simply not care.
These reactions to mice sighting are rather common ones. However, the case of Simon Dell, a photographer, is rather unique.
Noticing a mice family running around in his garden, he did not scare or harm them in any way. Instead, he decided to make them feel at home. He got hold of his tools and made them a little mice village where they could live and play.
In return of the favour, the mice family posed for the photographer who took splendid pictures of them.
One day, while taking photographs of birds, Dell stumbled upon the mice family in his garden playing under the grass. When he pointed his camera to the ground, to his astonishment, Dell found a mouse sticking its head out. It looked as if it was a meerkat standing up behind the grass blades.
Dell intuited that it could be his new star and rushed inside to get some food for it. On returning, Dell couldn’t find the mice initially. In no time, however, they returned for the food that was on offer.
After the initial interaction, Dell wondered if he could do something more for these beautiful creatures. He thought that he would arrange a shelter for them where they could sleep or hide or even feed.
One plus point for Dell was that he had some prior experience in wildlife photography. In the past, another wood mouse had lived in his garden shed. Inspired by the movie, Dell had decided to call it Stuart. Yet, the problem with Stuart was that he came out only after sunset.
With time, Stuart’s loneliness overcame him and by the spring of 2018, he went away, looking for a partner. Dell held on to his hope that maybe Stuart would return in the winter and live in his mice village.
Apart from the mice, many birds and other wildlife inhabit Dell’s garden.
Initially, there was only a single mouse with a cut in an ear. Dell named him George and made him a house with a box and small logs. He also put straw and moss cover to make it more realistic.
The log piles also kept the cats away. For further safety, Dell even put up a wire fence. Plus, the cats had to beware Dell’s Terrier dog.
As the number of mice increased, Dell added more miniature structures to his village.
Eventually, a beautiful habitat was created for Dell’s photographs. Deeply in love with this project, Dell increased his stock of camera equipment.
Moreover, with practice, Dell perfected his skills and took many stunning pictures of the mice family.
Dell gave them feathers to make their winter comfortable.
In all, Dell has given the mice family a happy life in their garden abode.
More info: The Photography of Simon Dell | George the Mouse in a log pile house
