Mice, Men, and Farming: ‘The Best Laid Plans ... Often Go Awry’

The saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” helps us remember that we are not ultimately the ones in control.

Both man and mouse sometimes make plans and arrangements that do not turn out as expected. Biba Kayewich

Here I share a heartfelt poem from a compassionate farmer who was also the national poet of Scotland. Originally written in Scots (a Scottish dialect), he wrote the piece upon discovering, to his great dismay, that he had disturbed a field mouse’s nest while plowing his field.

To a Mouse

“To a Mouse: On Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785.”

by Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland