We’d been having problems with mice. Baits had been doing their bit but there seemed a never-ending supply of them scampering across the kitchen floor.
I had discovered that there were reasons for not baiting in the house, as they tended to die there and so smell.
I hated the smell as it was usually coming from some difficult to access place (like behind a bookcase).
I have become paranoid about smells, especially pungent ones.
So when I woke up the other night and realised there was a smell I immediately thought there’s a dead mouse in the house.
In my mind I planned my next day, hunting down the poor deceased rodent. Checking under beds, I once found a dead one inside a piece of rolled up carpet under my bed, behind the bookcases, inside cupboards and in every conceivable space.
We get mouse invasions every year, usually when its been wet and I suspect that for most of the year they are content to play in the yard, feast on the compost and generally stay out of my world.
But we had had a lot of rain; the creek out back had swollen and luckily not caused us any problems.
One afternoon I was driving my grandson to his work when as we passed a farm that had a lot of water on it and he remarked about the dreadful smell coming from it.
I immediately knew what my smell was. Drying out after the rain.
Back home I looked at the creek to see it was receding and leaving behind a layer of silt, which was drying and accosting my nose.
Its one of those strong smells that makes you want to close every window and door. I know it will go away eventually but for now its one of the unfortunate consequences of too much rain.
When I was growing up we did have a flood where the water came up my back yard. Afterwards my job was the clean out the chook shed, which had been several feet underwater. The smell was horrific.
Thankfully apart form this inconvenience I have been spared that problem.
The mice though will continue to irritate me.
Morpethroad 
Urgh! Poor you, Michael. I hope the creek overflow goes quickly along with the smell 😝 You’d be able to appreciate what some of those poor shop keepers on the Central Coast must be going through.
Yes there are more worse off than me
I’m just glad you didn’t end up with the creek in you kitchen or living room
No high enough to be safe
Some people are more sensitive to smell than others. I get used to smells pretty quickly, while my younger daughter is extra sensitive to any smell and for her it’s difficult to abide by any bad smell!
We had a similar smelly problem, when I finally tracked it down, I found a dead mouse under the refrigerator motor. Retrieving it was a mission impossible!
I can believe that
Happy to hear it wasn’t a dead mouse, but unfortunate you were not able to get rid of the smell. Calls for an abundance of scented candles!
really enjoyed reading your response…. i could see everything you spoke about… watching as you traveled through your story… the mice… the mice… a couple of cats is only way… living in an old house with holes everywhere…. it was seasonal… theyd come and go… the smells i reacted too… reminding me of my own experiences with smells….