Cat & Mouse

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, I noticed one of my neighbor's 4 cats pouncing around the lawn in my backyard. Not unusual, but the cat was especially animated -- jumping high and in tight circles; in a word, playful. I soon realized that the cat was playing with something. I looked closer and really hoped his toy was not what I thought. Alas, it was. The cat was playing with a dead mouse. Yuck.I headed off to work with my fingers crossed hopingthat both the cat and the dead mouse would no longer be in my backyard when I returned home later that evening. When I returned home,the cat was nowhere to be seen. As for the mouse, no such luck. The little corpse was still on the lawn, evidence the cat became bored and had moved on to another toy. So, what to do with the dead mouse? My first thought was to notify my neighbor her cat left this dead mouse on my lawn with the expectation that it is her problem to resolve, i.e., you need to get it out of my backyard! The second option involved thoughts of my using a dust pan to pick it up and then fling it over the fence to her backyard thereby making it her problem and no longer mine. Quite the visual, don't you think? Unfortunately, the haunting notion of karma kick-back looms. Lastly, I could use the dust pan to deposit the mouse into a bag and place it in my own garbage can. The last option would be the best and certainly the most mature on my part. However, call me a wimp, but I'm squeamish when it comes to things like dead animals.I left the mouse on my lawn and headed to work again today very much hoping it would no longer be there when I returned from work. Admittedly, avoidance issues are clearly illustrated here. At this very moment, the dead mouse remains on my lawn untouched by either its murderer or me.Even moreoptions came to mind. The corpse is bio-degradable, right? It could just stay there until it completely decomposes. Or, perhaps I could schedule the gardeners sooner than usual?It's been a busy week, and, while I'm clearly hopeful this situation will resolve itself, by this time tomorrow it will be the weekend and I'll have to face the music. I'm just not sure which method to use. Paraphrasing Scarlet O'Hara, I'll think about that tomorrow.