Six years ago, a 50-year-old Briton wanted to protect the mice in his garden from the neighborhood cats. He created a mini Shire, a small version of the Hobbit village, and found a way to deal with his depression. More and more mice found their way to the mouse enclosure, which has now grown into a real village. It produces beautiful images.
Six years ago, Simon Dell spotted a mouse in his garden, just meters away from several cats. The Briton decided to build a house for the rodent, to protect it from the neighbors’ hunting four-legged friends. “I piled some small logs around a box as a house for the mouse, and covered it with moss and straw to give it a little shelter,” he said. Simon placed a fence around the house, so that the cats certainly couldn’t get to the mouse. The mouse was named George.
(Read more below the photos)
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
Other mice soon became jealous of George’s luxurious life and quietly found their way to the mouse paradise. Simon’s hobby quickly got out of hand. The Brit eventually built a complete mouse village, which now consists of several houses, a café and a bookshop. And he wouldn’t stop there. Simon has plans to build a train station and a cinema for the rodents, among other things. There are currently two families, each with approximately 10 mice.
(Read more below the photos)
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
All creations are in the style of the hobbits’ houses from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Over the years he added small details. The mice now even have a toilet, water tower, dining tables, washing lines and motorcycles. So the mice are definitely dancing in the bacon. Everything is made by hand from recycled pieces of wood and waste.
(Read more below the photos)
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
© Simon Dell / SWNS.com
Simon is a nature photographer by profession. He loves to take pictures of the cute animals in their village. Simon spreads the images via social media and has since gathered more than 150,000 followers. Every day he reports on the latest events in the mouse village, simply because that makes him happy: “I have always suffered from depression, insomnia and anxiety. If I couldn’t make these little things for the little mice, and if I couldn’t take photographs, I would quickly fall into depression again,” he says. “Photography gave me a reason to go outside again, and the mouse village gave me my smile back. I hope it can bring the same joy to others.”
Simon Dell with his handmade mouse village. — © SWNS.com