I have been adding to and improving the mouse log pile home. I made it more solid, adding doors, windows, and even new homes and buildings—all made from recycled bits of wood. Now, the mice have a full village with a pub, bookstore, shop, cake and bakery shop, schoolhouse, and even a train station, airplane, cars, and motorcycles. You name it, they have it!

Over the following days, another mouse appeared, and we called her Mildred—much like the old UK TV show George and Mildred. Then, a week or so later, out came a tiny baby mouse who was beyond cute. My wife named her Mini because she was so small.

Since 2018, we have continued building and expanding the village, which might be the first and only mouse village in Yorkshire, England. We have seen many generations of mice come and go, with lots of baby mice born and growing to adulthood.

You can follow our amazing story on Facebook. We are also working on a new storybook about one man and his mice, sharing true, fact-based stories about the mice I care for daily.

Challenges with the village have often been maintenance as it is very much a living structure covered with moss and plants it often needs tending to. Much like a garden. Brambles need trimming and the garden birds and hedgehogs love to dig up the moss covering. Often the blackbirds can pluck up almost all of the moss and it can take a day to put back or replace. Also, as all the buildings are handmade by me from recycled wood, things need repairs often or replacing as they can rot. Protecting the mice from cats or other wildlife is a challenge, but as I built the mouse village solid and very strong with only holes the size of a mouse, nothing else can get inside, and by giving them food at the doors or holes, they do not need to venture out much to forage.

There have been many moments that stick in my mind as mice, more so baby mice, can be very comical as they play and explore this magical little world. A mouse getting onto a motorcycle into a car or even sitting in a little plane was all fun to see.

The most memorable story would be my first meeting with the first mouse who I named George back in 2018 when the mouse village started and we were the first if not only mouse village in the UK. That day I had just cut the lawn and sat down on the patio to take photos of birds on the feeders and out came George the mouse on the lawn. As he was small, he stood upright like a little meerkat so he could see over the grass. That was when I noticed him and got my first photo. As days went by, I placed out a peanut for him and he came out every time with no fear of me or my camera clicking. Knowing there were cats around, I then set about making him a little safe place to eat his peanut. So I built a small log pile with a little room within. From that point on, the village has grown and grown. My Facebook page and the idea have inspired many other pages to do exactly the same as me and build their own mouse villages so mice all over the world now have a safe place to call home. 

Many have said and I am sure many more will say, "You will be overrun with mice. They breed so fast and they will come in to your home." The fact is, that has never been the case. The village is maybe 15 ft from my back door and we have had not one mouse in our house and no problems with overpopulation. Some may have ventured into my shed, but to be honest, my shed is a mess so they are welcome to live in there if they wish. As I say to many, I have given the mice everything outside that they often search for inside our homes - food, shelter, warm bed. Give them that outdoors and they will be happy. 

Me and my grandchildren, Evie, Lucas, Piper, Liara and Gunnar, all love sitting out to watch the mice and they find it all magical, like a little fantasy world that I am sure will inspire them as they grow to love nature. I also add that I first started photography 10 years ago to help deal with my mental health after a crisis point. I found getting a camera helped me get back out and meet new people and gave me a goal or reason to want to wake up in the morning. Once I started the mouse village, I had found the happy place where I could use all my skills and hobbies - crafting, wood carving, clay art, and photography - all here on my own doorstep in my south Yorkshire garden.