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You can watch the pulse of admittance at the Wildlife Rehab Center in Roseville. Each time a patient is admitted it's name is placed on a scrolling list found at the center's web site. That address is wrcmn.org. Things are slow right now — 1:23 p.m. on Friday the 27th. A House Sparrow arrived first at 10 o'clock this morning, followed by a Gray Tree Frog and a Pied-billed Grebe. The present snowy weather might increase traffic. Check on it. You also can select past dates to see which animals were admitted. One day, a very considerate and kind person brought in two house mice. There are more exciting admissions.

This white-footed mouse did not need medical attention. It needed a new home after I asked it to leave the bluebird nest box in which it had settled. Mice love those boxes. Every fall there are evictions when I do seasonal housecleaning. Why don't just let the mice spend the winter as my tenants? Because they soil their nests, creating a foul springtime removal.