Perpetual Ruminations

Somebody's Watching Me

Have you ever had the feeling your being watched? I'm sure at some point we've all felt eyes upon us. Most times, it's just our imagination, but there are other times we discover we are being watched. Many years ago I had this happen; feeling I was being watched, only to discover, I was...

It was around 2005 while I was staying at my brother's house. He had moved in with his girlfriend and wanted me and my wife to stay at his house so it wouldn't sit empty. The deal was, no rent, we paid all the bills, and we maintained it for him.

We started having some issues with the water heater down in the basement. It would go out (it was natural gas powered) and I would have to relight it at least once a month. Everything seemed fine with it, but it soon began going out more often and eventually I discovered it was leaking and putting the pilot light out.

I notified him of the problem and told him I would purchase a new water heater and install it if he would use his pickup to haul it and help me get it into the basement. This wasn't much of a basement, but more of a root cellar with a steep and narrow stairway. It was a tight fit but with both of us we got it into the dirt floored basement.

The following day I tackled the job of installing the new heater. I shut off the gas and the water, drained the old heater into the sump, and unhooked the water and gas lines. While I worked, I kept getting the feeling I was being watched! There was just one light bulb down there so it was shadowy and it got me feeling kind of off, but there wasn't anyone around.

I fought with the scaled ridden old heater to get it moved, then set the new heater in it's place. Still, I could feel someone, or some thing watching me. I blew it off and went to work hooking up the gas line and checking it for leaks. Next I installed a couple of new valves  for both the inlet and the outlet pipes, then began hooking them up to the new tank, all the while feeling those eyes on me.

After everything was hooked up and double checked, I turned to the main water line coming into the house to turn the water back on. There in the shadows I saw them, two little eyes reflecting the dim light of the single bulb. I turned my flashlight to them and there on the ledge was a little deer mouse watching my every move! Even when I reached next to him, or her, it stayed perfectly still and watched me. No, not perfectly still, the nose twitched as it sniffed at me.

I finished my job, put my tools away, and cleaned up my work area all the time keeping an eye on the little mouse. It never moved! I turned off the light and carried my tools up the narrow steps only to find the mouse had beaten me to the top and was now on the ledge by the door watching me again. It followed me into the house through the basement door and when I set my toolbox down, jumped on it and watched me.

We always had mice getting into the house, seeing how we lived across the street form a grain elevator, so we would set a live trap and transport them out to the country. But, it was mid-December and cold out. I didn't have the heart to trap and throw this curious little creature out, besides, it was almost Christmas. Instead, I dug out an unused hamster cage and set it down with the door open and put some bird seed inside. Maryweather (yes I named it) ran right in and started eating.

Maryweather stayed with us until spring. He, or she, never minded the hamster cage and especially enjoyed the wheel. I didn't interact much with our guest knowing in time I would return the little critter to it's natural life. Even after being caged, Meryweather would sit and watch me for hours. After the weather was nice, I released Meryweather out by the garage, knowing he would likely be right back in the house. But to my surprise he took up residency in the old garage. Many times I would see him sitting on a shelf watching me while I worked on various projects.