Crikey! This beautiful specimen was in the basement this morning.  Only about 12" long, but he was a grump, striking as I moved him into a box so I could relocate him to the edge of the forest.

Mr. Snakey just won't give up

This was our 5+ ft Eastern Black Snake that I have relocated at least 3 times in the past few days.  There's no telling how many eggs he's devoured. Obviously, I did not move him far enough away from the chicken coop, as he found his way back twice without any problem or maybe we have more than 1 big guy. Today when I found him inside the coop in the nesting box, I lifted him into a big Rubbermaid tub.  I put the lid on and carried the tub to the ATV, placed it in the seat next to me and with one hand firmly on the lid I drove downhill to the brush pile about 400 ft from the house, below the Toy Shed. The snake crawled out of the tub and then headed right into the brush pile, so maybe this will be his new haunt.  Only time will tell.

Reading12: 45Escaping the Twilight ****Sigrid Weidenweber  The detailed descriptions of customs (female genital mutilation) and lifestyle give a deep, insight into the Sudanese culture, as well as entry into the cloaked world of Muslim women in a story about survival, tradition and triumph. Hard to read subjectively but well written.
44Spirit Horses *** Alan Evans   In the hills of Tennessee, Shane Carson, a gifted, nationally-recognized horseman, is living the good life. When a mysterious mustang shows up on his farm, Shane doesn’t know how—or why—the horse appeared, but the horse’s distinctive brand identifies her as one of the Spirit Horses, a rare, wild herd that runs free on the Shoshone reservation in Wyoming. Watched over for centuries in the tribe’s ancestral valleys, these exquisite horses, according to belief, provide a link to the afterlife.  When his family dies in an car accident, Shane  loses his will to live—but for one promise he made to his young son: to return the mustang to her rightful home. You know he's going to fall in love and save the horse but the ending does supply a twist that fits the story well.
43The Folks at Fifty-Eight *** Michael Patrick Clark  Gerald Hammond is the exception to the rule; an honorable spy, whose lofty principles have brought him nothing but loneliness and isolation. Catherine Schmidt is the stunning young daughter of an assassinated spymaster, whose murderous quest for vengeance has left her at the mercy of the infamous Head of Soviet State Security.
On a covert operation, in Soviet-occupied Germany, Hammond has no knowledge of the unseen forces that sponsor and oppose his mission. He only knows that he must somehow save her to save himself, but, as ever-more disturbing revelations come to light, begins to wonder where the greater threat is.
Set against a factual background of government conspiracy, and one of the most audacious espionage coups in history, the Folks at Fifty-Eight is a beautifully-paced tale of seduction, betrayal, blackmail, and murder that blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction.
42An Angel with Fur ****Russel Blake  An Angel With Fur is the heartwarming true story of Lobo the miracle dog. Rescued as a puppy from an animal shelter in Mexico, Lobo's saga is a life-affirming romp chronicling his growth, adventures and challenges.
41Discreet Activities ***Claude Bouchard  As a result of information gathered via electronic surveillance by intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Canada, a budding terrorist organization, the Army for Islam or AFI, is suspected of planning an attack, its target possibly NYC, Burlington, Vermont or even Canada's famed Montreal.
When four foreign students from Pakistan with known ties to the AFI's Montreal cell arrive in the area on New Year's Eve, Discreet Activities' head, Jonathan Addley, along with Chris Barry and other DA consultants are more than willing to take on the additional workload.
After two of the DA team members die violently in an AFI related suicide-bombing, the job becomes getting revenge on those responsible for this Holy War...
(Kindle summaries)

Mr. Snakey relo day

Tonight I found Mr. Snakey back in the coop but since we'd been collecting eggs all day, he probably was hungry.  Paul had a surprise for him!  A large rubbermaid bin and a 300" walk downhill to the brushpile near the garden.  Within seconds of release he was gone into the grass in the direction of the pile.

 Crikey, he's a big one!

Freedom!

 Just the tail is visible.

More adventures with Mr. Snakey

 Open wide.

Paul and the snake must be getting used to each other. We lost 2 eggs today.  Relocation in in the near future: unless these guys show us they are keeping the rodent population near the house down, they will find plenty of food in the meadow.

FOY: Black snake

Here is our first of the year Eastern Black Snake (aka Eastern Black Rat Snake).  When Leslie first spotted  him he was crawling along the side of this White Pine Tree, looking into the hollows and wood pecker holes to see what was living there.  When I approached he was moving from the pine tree to an adjacent maple tree sapling.  I went up and touched his side and he moved more quickly towards the maple, but he did not move aggressively towards me.  He was more interested in moving away from me.  Temperature was in the mid-70s, so he was probably a bit more sluggish that he would have been under normal circumstances. 

Buddy followed Jonathan's lead by running home this morning without telling me where he was going.  I searched below the walnut grove in the woods and by Pruss's creek for a while in the rain before mumbling choice words all the way home. I couldn't have been more surprised to see him sitting patiently at the front door.

One coop now

An Eastern rat snake, maybe 5', was curled behind the chicken feed just inside the coop today at 5:00.  I encouraged it to remove itself with a gentle nudge from a rake. Then I sprinkled diatomaceous earth in that corner to discourage further visits. 
I found the littlest peeps (who are bigger than footballs now at 8 wks) huddled behind the open coop door when I went out to put everyone to bed.  I picked up one and the rest followed me into the coop.  Yeah! No more chicken tractor.  I hope it's permanent and they don't need the tractor any more.
Gambol got stung on the eyebrow on his late afternoon walk.  His whole brow was swollen like a (human) boxer's. By our after-dinner walk, he looked much better.  Facebook Brittany page  members say children's Benedryl helps, although he didn't seem to be too distressed after the initial yelp.  Maybe he wants a story written about him like Ferdinand?

Bear

Gambol and I collected 1/2 sunflower seed bag of garlic mustard (I weeded; he chased 2 turtles) in the meadow.  The soil is just right for weeding and the flowers are showy now.  I put the bag by the garage door, under the deck so it could dry for burning this weekend.  The next morning the bag was gone!  Paul didn't know anything about it;  he didn't see it on his dog walks through the day.  How could a bear carry off a bag that heavy...and wouldn't you think the garlic mustard would far out-smell residual sunflower seed odors?
I found the torn apart bag 50 feet from the chicken coop,  behind the stumps, mustard in a fairly neat pile, the only green stuff in that area.
Today a 2" diameter aspen near the coop was broken off at about 12" off the ground. No aspens in the meadow have been bothered (yet).
I guess Brittanys don't feel the need to warn us that bears are in the 'hood; we haven't heard a sound from them.
We've only had 2 small caterpillar tents so far.  We crushed a lot last year so perhaps our cherries will be healthier this year. We are noticing more seedlings in the forest.
Paul made grilled asparagus with romano cheese and a spray of balsamic vinegar to finish.  The purple color stays bright.  He also found FOY 4 black morel mushrooms under some may apples and sauteed them with onions.  A spring delight.
FOY scarlet tanager and 3 black rat snakes

Surprise in the coop

On the way back from the early afternoon dog walk I picked another head ofelder berries for the new chicks.
The hens gathered around me as I slipped the berries into the chicken tractor wire, and then I headed over to check the egg boxes. Right inside there was another 5-6 ft black rat snake. I carried it about 100 ft up the hill and let it loose. This one was a bit more active than the last one when the Empress was here—he didn’t strike at me but he started to curve back up on his body so that his head was almost even with my hands on his body. Hopefully he is well on his way to greener forests.

LATER:

I went in to check the eggs and got quite a start--this snake was in the nest box and had an egg partly swallowed.  By the time I got to the house for my gloves and a Tupperware box to carry the snake away, it had regurgitated the egg.  I carried it to the Upperdreiecke and beyond before I let it loose.  When I went back to the coop I found the egg that it had spit up plus an empty egg shell, so it had already dined on one egg. We've been berating the hens for being free-loaders.  They are probably just feeding the neighborhood; that's OK if this guy also eats small furry critters and isn't a free-loader himself

Then, in the meadow the dogs found a headless rabbit.  

Only 15 minutes after this picture Paul walked the dogs and the driveway was virtually dry--almost a gully washer, but it didn't last long enough to do any damage.

On our after dinner walk tonight we saw a 12-14" Eastern milk snake behind the septic mound sunning on the blackberry bushes.  It didn't move away very quickly when we approached with the dogs panting at our sides. We were looking for blackberries; they are beginning to ripen.

Nature

Gambol brought me a box turtle on our early morning walk and a dead chipmunk while we were gardening. Both 4-legged boys missed a 4' long black snake sunning in the grass. Three boys scared a jake in the driveway 50 feet from the house on their late morning walk. A bald eagle flew over the house and was buzzed by a crow. Hummingbirds did their U-shaped dance mating over the deck. I found a new flower: Hooker's orchid Platanthera hookeri in the bear's lair. It's on the Pa Endangered list.
A thunderstorm hit just after breakfast; Buddy starts quivering well before we can hear the thunder. He buried his head in my armpit then scrambled into my lap.
We have nature here at the Barony.

Memorial Day

May 31, 1889

Johnstown, PA: Flood disaster. Heavy rains caused overtopping of 90-foot high earthen dam Conemaugh River, 14 miles north in the mountains. The dam gave way and a torrent water roared down on the city at 50 mph. The force of the water moved a 48-ton locomotive 1 mile. Over 2,100 people died.

Heard a gobble on our early walk.  It's the last day of Spring Gobbler Season so I guess he thinks he's safe.  We haven't heard a turkey in 2 weeks.

Electricity went out for about 3 hrs this morning.  That's the 3rd time in a week.  Does Allegheny Power think we are in Korea in the '70s?  The generator in the new house sounds better and better.

Buddy free-ranged for about 2 hours this morning. When he romps in the meadow on the orange leash, the long grass sometimes twists around the clash and releases him. He took full advantage this time. Paul had just mowed some fine walking lanes in the grass, but Buddy seems to prefer the tall stuff. By the time I realized he was loose he was at R/D's property line. We chased and called but he ignored us. Paul finally caught up to him at Murch's corner brambles near the walnut grove. Of course it's 80 degrees and sunny, too warm for running in a meadow in my book.

4' Eastern black snake in the coop behind the food can.

Gambol peed on the stairs to tell us he wanted to go chase chipmunks. When I opened the door he was out like a flash, not stopping until he treed a chippy.

Thunderstorms at dinner sent Buddy into his pacing mode.  Luckily they only lasted a short while and weren't really boomers.

What a day!

Bill and Jonas worked on the railings and cap rails.  The newel posts now are complete with their caps, and half of the loft balusters have a railing cap of cherry.  Jonas has the other half of the railing cap cut to length, and ready for installation tomorrow.  The railings for the stairs to the basement were pre-fitted by Bill; he will tweak them for installation on Thursday.  That should just about finish the stairs and railings, a work of art.
The exterior siding is now complete--Doug, John, and Chris worked in the hot sun to get the rear wall finished.  After getting all the siding boards nailed in place, they applied caulk where needed.  John and Chris installed the trim to the basement windows and doors giving them a finished look.

On every walk now Paul looks for the snake that Gambol found a few weeks ago crawling up an oak tree down by the septic mound. The head of the snake was about 3 feet off the ground as he was headed straight up the tree trunk so he was probably about 5 feet long.  Yesterday, no snake, but he found a discarded snake skin on the ground wrapped around a couple of downed branches.  He carefully extracted the skin from the branches and brought it back to the house, hanging it over the light at the side of the garage.  It is an almost intact skin, only the tip of the tail is missing.  It is longer than he is tall (5' 7") so this snake is easily 6 feet long.
Reading Rage of Angels ** Sidney Sheldon; Young lawyer makes a huge mistake her first day on the job but recovers professionally; makes a huge mistake in her personal life... Everything is too good or too bad in this story to be classified anything but a fantasy.

FOY

Northern ringneck snake in the front hall by the door:  black with yellow band behind its head, 5" long, .25" diameter
A hummingbird showed up tonight, too. We now have 35 birds on the 2010 list.
Lightning bugs are also on our FOY list for today.

Predator in the Coop: Krikey!

After a short field trip to Conshohocken and Malvern I stepped into the chicken coop to put up their night roosts. Something was awry: there was a long, thin, black ribbon moving toward the back corner. Paul came to my girls' rescue (again and always) with thick leather gloves and a bucket. I held the flashlight. He picked up the pretty, black snake and moved it 50' north of the coop. I'm sure the chickens were safe from the 4' long, 1.5" diameter snake, but the eggs probably weren't. The snake might not have been safe from the sharp pecking of some angry cockerels. We'll be watching carefully from now on.

3 snake day

From the Baron:

Gambol and I each found a Black Rat Snake on the trail about 150 ft from the house this morning around 10:00 AM. I found the first on the right side of the path, stretched out to collect maximum sun although it was very lethargic. He found the second one about 50 ft ahead of mine, a little bit more energetic and already coiled as it felt the 4 legged hunter rush by, but still somewhat sluggish.
The fact that they were in the forest, under heavy shade, it was cloudy and foggy, and the air temperature was about 65 degrees out would suggest that the snakes would be pretty chilly and not very active. Both snakes were 3-4 ft in length and they vibrated their tails to simulate a rattle, so both Gambol and I took special notice of the snakes to make sure they were not real timber rattlers.
These were in the forest; today is the first time I have seen a snake in the deep woods. Most of the time I see them they are on the edge of the forest and the meadow, where they are out getting some sun and warmth, so a bit more exposed. To show how sluggish the snakes were, I was able to go back to the house and get the camera and walk back and locate both of them within 10 feet of where we first found them.
Gambol stood very still, barked softly once, and did not move into the snake, probably because of the faint rattling sound.
Later this afternoon, around 5:00 PM both Gambol and I were riding in the RTV to pick up some rocks we had piled alongside of the paths. I spotted another snake past the sand mound, the third of the day, also alongside of our path, fully extended and a bit sluggish, another black rat snake about 3-4 feet in length. I stopped the ATV, looked closely at the snake while still seated. The snake did not move. Conditions were similar to this morning, although it had become partly cloudy and temperatures were in the low 70s, but the snake was under some heavy understory cover and well shaded.
Finding three black rat snakes in a day is a first for me--not sure about Gambol.

Hummers are still around but they have to share the feeders with dozens of jellowjackets.

Mr and Mrs Snaky

From the Baron:

On Tuesday while I was working on some wire (anti-deer) cages for apple tree seedlings and Gambol was out running around the property, I heard him barking and he didn't come when I called. I decided I'd better check him out and get him to respond to my command to come, so I followed the sounds of his almost constant barking and walked from the house to the meadow. Gambol was just past the asparagus plot and my new apple tree grove, about 30 feet from the edge of the forest, standing in meadow grass and clover that was about 12 inches tall. My first thought was that he had cornered a groundhog or a field mouse, but as I got closer, I saw Gambol jump back and I thought he might be dodging a snake's strike--and that was correct. I got to Gambol and grabbed his collar. I could see a 4' coiled Eastern Ratsnake (Black Ratsnake)rattling its tail, much like a rattlesnake,as a sign of fear. Most likely seeing Gambol jump back and forth while barking was enough to startle the snake. Actually I should say snakes--this was a mating pair of Eastern Ratsnakes that Gambol had disturbed. They were coiled around each other: I could clearly see 2 heads and 8 feet of snake. While they are more protected inside the forest, they probably came out into the meadow to get some direct sunshine and warmth. I moved Gambol so he wouldn't get too close to the snakes--the Eastern Ratsnake can deliver a painful bite but it is non-venomous. As I returned to observe the pair (but not too close), one of the snakes disengaged and moved off through the grass towards the nearby tree line. This snake is a fast mover and it covered the 30 feet in about 4-5 seconds. The remaining snake was still coiled up so I nudged it with my shoe. It then moved off through the grass like the first snake, also moving quite quickly (I did too, but in the opposite direction). Of course, the sounds and sights of the snakes moving through the grass was enough to interest Gambol all over again, so I took him back to the house, all the while telling Gambol that he should "leave it" which is our command for him to drop something and come to us. Well, that didn't really sink in, and as soon as I let Gambol go off on his own again, he circled around and headed right back to the meadow. I followed and sure enough, Gambol was at the forest edge where the snakes had headed, and he was pacing back and forth looking for his two snaky friends. So we walked back to the house together again but this time he spotted a chipmunk and the snakes were, for the time being, forgotten. Gambol was off trying to coax the chipmunk out from a pile of construction material.

Mr Snake-y

More from the Baron:

Another gardening day. I planted all the onion sets (green, yellow, and red). Yesterday I picked up a couple of 8 foot long 4X4s, so I planted them on either side of the grapes to act as a trellis for the vines. I haven't strung the wire yet (need to figure out so how to get the wire as taut as possible to support the vines.) I planted the 4x4s 2 feet into the ground--quite a feat in our soil.
Gambol and I cut up some wire fencing and made cages for the 6 trees we planted yesterday. I also cut up some hardware cloth tubes to put around the base of the trees to guard against rodents chewing up the base of the trees. We anchored the cages with 4 bamboo poles and those were pounded into the ground with our fancy new hole spike--I think on average the holes are 18-20 inches deep so that should be deep enough to hold the cages firmly to the ground.
We went on a walk on the long lead down to the fire circle and then to the fence and left to the drop-off. There was a lot of noise coming from Paradise Ranch but we didn't see anything as far as earth moving equipment. When I stopped Gambol from going down the drop-off, I just happened to look into the forest and on a bush about a foot off the ground I saw a Eastern Rat Snake (black rat snake) doubled up on itself about 36 inches long. The snake was very still on the branch so I moved over to it and touched it, and it started to climb along the branch. I got Gambol's attention and he did watch the snake approach us as we stood on the path near the fence line. The snake went along the branch towards a uprooted tree stump. As we watched it, the snake moved onto the stump and then slide into a hole in the dirt by the upturned roots. Pretty neat.
We are supposed to see some rain here starting around midnight tonight and lasting into Wednesday night, so probably no gardening for a while. Thank goodness: it will take a while for my fingers to heal.

Eggs and things

We were filling the RTV with composted horse manure from the Penn State mushroom farm that was delivered about 2 weeks ago to our compost area by the side of the house. Suddenly eggs were falling our of the compost as it dropped from the tractor: 1" by 1.25", very leathery, bumpy, most had some discoloration, a few were folded over or collapsed. One was cracked and dripping so we pried it open, thinking what ever was in it wasn't going to make it anyway. Snake! We eventually found over 20 eggs and reburied them in a compost nest up the hill a bit. No wonder the snake had been hanging around our hill. We found a small snake, 36" long and maybe 1.25" diameter, tangled in the blueberry netting, too late to save it.

As we reburied the snake eggs we found an interesting nest of the Baldfaced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata. It's a mound of dirt,8" high, covered by a paper nest. The entry is at the dirt line. Wasps are black and white and about 3/4" long.


Chicklets will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. They stayed outside last night til almost dark and about 70 degrees. (We went to the PFHT picnic and then stopped in Harrisburg for an Appalachian Brewery dinner.) They were huddled up against the wall, tight together. Their feet were cold and not one gave me any trouble about getting caught for the tub.
When I let them out this morning, downy feathers flew all over the place. The girls raced around as if they'd never been outside before, even without their usual blueberry breakfast. Maybe I was late getting them out. Maybe they are just getting cramped in their tub. They are definitely growing real feathers. They have pantaloons and their ears are visible now.
A couple can fly up to the roost. We held a grasshoppers so they have to be on the perch to get it; no problemo! Those who know the trick haven't figured out how to stay on the perch while they eat. Instead they fly down to show off their treat and are immediately mobbed. Birdbrain?


When I open their door, I am mobbed by a half dozen chicks who want blueberries, or whatever else I'm serving, or, if nothing is available, they'd like to jump out and find their own. I've let a few do that; one followed me around between my feet pecking at bugs I kicked up. They don't like to be far from their sisters however. Most are a bit more wary and let the others mob the door.

They use the tube-drinker easily so that's what we use in the tub. We gave them some potato peelings, Swiss Chard hunks and egg plant peelings. Potatoes were OK, but blueberries and grasshoppers are better.

Tonight bedtime was a little more difficult than last night. It's lighter and a little warmer. Most came right in with blueberry treats. The last one, apparently doesn't like blueberries or maybe she doesn't like to be stepped on to get one. She was peeping mournfully just out of grabbing range. Finally I let the bird who kept flying out of the tub to my knee call the lone star in the tractor. She came in when her sister told her to.
The Baron is still conducting his war against the groundhogs on our property, and so far this year he has taken 8 of them with his .22 rifle. Still with all that we know there are at least 4 more groundhogs running around on the meadow right now. The battle continues. It's Sunday so he won't shoot, and they seem to know it.

Early Summer Flora and Fauna of the Barony

This year in Pennsylvania we are having a bumper crop of 17 year locust. Apparently every year there is a hatch of a different brood of these cicadas, but this brood is typically has a large population of insects hatch out, and sure enough, this year is no exception. There are red-eyed locust, about 2 1/2 inches long. Their call is muted from the normal screeching of a cicada that you hear in the heat of the summer. In fact, this cicada brood sounds to me like the "death ray" from War of the Worlds, sort of metallic and with a slight wavering tone. Anyway, we have these little critters flying about and crawling all over the trees, looking for a mate. They only have a life-cycle that lasts about 4 weeks, so they have to get busy quickly, and that is why they give off their call almost 24 hours a day. There are some times, during the middle of the night and even in the daytime during a particularly cloudy or rainy period that the calls are silent, but otherwise their calls are a background noise. The Baroness has been on a mission to kill off as many as she can (I guess she doesn't want to see as many in 17 years). It is very easy to catch the cicadas as they wait on the branches of trees, looking for a date. In the attached picture you can see 7 cicadas on a dogwood tree branch, just about at eye level (notice the drops of water on the leaves of the trees--we had a pretty good rain last night and this morning the cicadas were out on the wet leaves). If you are gentle and quick, you could probably catch each one of the 7 cicadas you see in this picture. As long as you don't shake the tree branch and move quickly, the cicadas don't react. In fact, just walking around in our forest and meadow you are likely to have one of these guys land right on you--which isn't all that much fun. They can't hurt you but they sure can scare you.

The down hill side of the Toy Shed is filling with wild flowers, some native and some not so. This coryopsis and bee are my new screensaver.


BT did a good job on the gypsy moths as far as we can tell now. We have a few totally defoliated trees and many are raggedy, but we don't hear the constant rain of their frass and when I go on my cicada stomping walk-about, I only find a handful of gyp-cats. Hurrah! The Bt didn't get every caterpillar because we still have butterflies.



A new bird for the year (and life) list: a hooded warbler. He sang to me for 15 minutes just off the upper Jennifer Trail. At one point he flitted off to catch a moth and was about 10 feet from me almost on the ground.

Since we weeded yesterday, this guy is helping us keep the small things at bay.

Mr Snakey

From a letter to Aunt Pricilla:
I had a bit of unexpected fun last week. I was weeding the garden at lunchtime and as I got up to the top of the slope where we have lettuce, onions, and peas planted and surrounded by a plastic mesh fencing, to keep the rabbits out. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and looked down at the netting and found a black rat snake or bull snake caught fast in the plastic mesh netting. What I saw out of the corner of my eye was the snake's tail as it was being shaken back and forth, just like a rattlesnake, but, without any rattles. The snake was about 4 feet long and was about the thickness of a golfball in the center of its body. It had obviously put its head into the mesh and crawled forward until it couldn't move any more and then tried to back up, but its scales grabbed the netted and held it fast. The snake then twisted and rolled, really getting itself caught. It was basically held fast with about 10 inches of its neck and head free and maybe 10 inches of its body and tail free. I turned back and ran into the house for a towel to throw over the snakes head and a sharp thin knife. I returned and tried to get the towel over the snakes head, with some success and started to cut away the plastic mesh. The knife did a great job, but I was really nervous about hurting the snake and was careful to cut only the mesh. Eventually the snake wiggled its head out of the towel because it was taking two hands to hold the snake and the knife. He was definitely not happy with his predicament and he started striking at me as I was cutting. He didn't hit me, which is a good thing as I found latter that they can give a pretty painful bite. I managed to raise up his body, keeping his head down and continued to cut the mesh away. After about 15 minutes of this delicate ballet, he was only held with about 2 inches of netting. He sensed that he was getting close to freedom and so he figured he could make a get-away. So naturally he stuck his head into the mesh again---and tried to twist and roll, getting more tangled up again. Luckily I had a pretty good grip on him and he didn't get too caught up in the mesh again, so I cut the final section of the mesh and swung his body so that his head pointed up into the forest, and then I quickly dropped him and let him go. He scooted into the fallen leaves and brush and I was happy to see him go. The fact that he was so active and kept striking at me probably means that he had just gotten into the mesh when I found him, because it was a hot and humid morning and the netting had him exposed to the direct sunlight. If he had been out there on the netting for a couple of hours, he would have been in bad shape. So all's well that end's well. We want the snakes around to help keep the rodents in check and usually we only see the snakes crossing our driveway or just on the edge of the meadow, so this was a particularly interesting event. Did I also mention that I am not at all comfortable with snakes? Yes they scare the crap out of me, so I sure hope little Mr. Snakey doesn't make it a habit of visiting the section of our garden any more!