Yep, shedding

We're suddenly seeing a lot of snakes around here. Yesterday I walked across our lawn, and a small and swift snake (no idea what kind, except clearly it wasn't a rattlesnake) slipped away ahead of me.

A day before that, we were walking Darcy on the road below our house and saw a snake lying in the sun.

We made sure to scoot it off the road so it wouldn't get run over.

After Don found those two snakes on a pile of lumber the other day, we noticed one of the snakes had "blue" eyes. He said it was a sign the snake was about to shed.

This blue-eyed snake ducked itself it a slot between some boards.

We joked that the next time Don needed a 2x6, he'd find a snakeskin. Sure enough, yesterday he came in holding a fragile and perfect snakeskin.

The level of detail on snakeskins never fails to amaze me.

Nature is amazing.

Spring snakes

Don came trotting into the house the other day. "Grab your camera," he said. "And hurry."

Whenever he suggests something like this, I don't argue. I grabbed my camera and hurried.

He had been working on a project which required the use of a couple of 2x6s, a pile of which we have stacked and tarped in the driveway. He pulled back the tarp just enough to pull out a couple of boards, but what he saw made him come get me and the camera.

Two racer snakes – good sized ones – were curled up on the boards, looking annoyed at the disturbance.

I'm guessing they were both about two feet long.

The morning was kind of chilly, so the snakes were rather sluggish. This allowed us a few moments to admire them.

I was snapping photos fairly quickly so they're not in the best focus, but one snake looked like it was blind (blue eyes). Either the camera was playing tricks with the lighting, or (Don's suggestion) it might have been in the beginning stages of shedding.

Despite the presence of the snakes, Don needed his boards; so he carefully started pulling them out of the pile, far enough away from the snakes so as not to disturb them. Despite this, they began moving.

Zooming in on that one snake ... yep, blue eyes, not a trick of the light. Yep, shedding.

The blue-eyed snake tried to crawl into a space between the boards as Don pulled one out above it. No worries, that was the last board he needed. We re-tarped the wood and left the snakes alone to continue their task of keeping mice under control.

Although it wouldn't surprise me to find a snakeskin next time we need a 2x6.

Nature is amazing

Everyone's heard of deep-sea angler fish, right? These are the creatures that attract prey toward them with a bioluminescent lure.

Fairly recently, this same principle was discovered in a snake. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the spider-tailed horned viper. Specifically, view the video at this link and watch its tail.

According to Wikipedia, this venomous snake lives in harsh desert conditions in Iran and uses its spider-like tail to lure in prey. When scientists described the first specimen they found, they attributed its tail configuration "to either a parasite, deformity, or tumors." Then a second specimen was found, and – whoa, Nellie – they realized this is how it catches prey.

I've never heard of this species, and I'll admit being gobsmacked. Here's a video of the snake luring in and catching a bird:

"I'm going to put this up on the blog," I enthused. "This is incredible."

"Ah, the biologist strikes again," observed Don, remarking on my past education.

The spider-tailed horned viper. Nature is amazing.

Beautiful gopher snake

We took Darcy for a walk a few days ago and saw this large and beautiful gopher snake on the road. We don't normally see snakes this large. It was about two and a half feet long.

What's funny is Darcy walked right past it without noticing – I'm guessing he thought it was a stick – and when Don and I scooted the snake off the road so it wouldn't get run over, the dog leaped back in surprise and astonishment. The stick moved on its own!

For a day or two afterward, Darcy regarded any sticks on the road with caution. Can't be too careful about those moving sticks.

Un-netting the strawberries

If you remember, we had some voracious robins gobbling the strawberries a few weeks ago.

To deter them, we netted all the beds.

As one reader accurately pointed out, we were risking "catching" robins or other critters who might get tangled in the netting. The mesh worked beautifully to deter pests, and as it turned out, we only had one bird caught (by the toe) during the three weeks the strawberry beds were covered. I was able to extract him safely and release him without a problem.

However the girls were picking strawberries a few days ago when Younger Daughter suddenly came dashing into the house for a pair of scissors. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"There's a snake caught in the netting," she replied, and dashed out again.

I grabbed the camera and followed. Older Daughter was chopping away pieces of the netting where the snake was caught. I sent Younger Daughter back to the house for a pair of embroidery scissors since I knew big scissors wouldn't work to extract the snake.

The poor little guy had done an extremely thorough job of tangling himself up.

While Older Daughter took pictures, Younger Daughter held the netting apart while I carefully -- carefully -- snipped away the mesh. It was pretty tight against the snake's scales so it was tricky work.

He wrapped his tail around my hand while I worked on his upper body. Fortunately he wasn't hurt in the slightest, just entangled.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief when he was free. Anyone know what kind of snake this is?

Because she was concerned the snake might have gotten dehydrated during his imprisonment, Older Daughter wanted to release him by the pond, which she did.

Tragedy averted!

However we decided that since the June-bearing strawberries were moving past their peak, it was time to remove the netting. They girls piled it up, and I bundled it together and put it away for the year.

So it was the height of irony when I went out into the garden yesterday morning to do some weeding, and saw this cheeky chipmunk dashing across the gravel with a strawberry in his mouth. He paused and ate it long enough for me to take nine photos (most of them identical) before dropping his breakfast and dashing off.

Ah well, I can't complain that we aren't getting enough strawberries. I guess I can spare one or two to the chipmunks.

A walk, at last!

Yesterday I did something I've been wanting to do for a looong time: I walked to the mailboxes.

This is a three-mile round trip and is delightful, but we've had such a busy summer and early fall that I haven't had a chance to indulge myself in months.

We don't get spectacular fall color around here, but the subtle shades are pretty.

I saw this little guy in the middle of the road. And I mean little -- no bigger than about six inches.

Okay all you herpetologist types, what kind? Gopher?

I put my finger nearby to offer scale on his size.

After taking these pix, I scootched him off the road so he wouldn't get squished by a passing car.

I couldn't help but notice these enormous rose hips.

I've seldom seen such big fruits -- some of them were an inch across.

Some people say this predicts a harsh winter. I usually don't put much faith in such predictions, because it seems every winter is predicted to be harsh by whatever folk signs you prefer to watch.

Nonetheless I'm forced to admit I've never seen such big rose hips. These are a phenomenal source of Vitamin C, by the way, and make a splendid tea.

White-breasted nuthatch.

Snowberries. These weren't especially large (I've seen larger) but they were very numerous.

Snowberries are mildly poisonous to humans but lots of critters can eat them.

Probably the closest thing to a palm tree we'll see in these parts.

Western bluebird. He was quite a distance away and the camera is at maximum zoom (plus the photos are cropped), so not the clearest shots.

These photos don't do justice to how blue and pretty these birds are.

As I came back to the house, I couldn't stop thinking about those rose hips, as well as the horrible storm in South Dakota. In other words, I couldn't help but think about winter. When you live in a northern climate, preparing for winter (pretty much year round) is a necessity. I'll feel better once we have our firewood in, the rest of our hay in, and everything battened down.

Before the snow flies, we also try to give everything a good cleanup and tidy-up. We drain and coil hoses, we pick up scattered tools and implements, we try to make sure nothing is left on the ground that could get buried under snow for six months. And above all, we stock up on feed for the chickens, dogs, and barn cat.

Lots to do in the next month. I guess I'd best stop wasting time on pleasant walks and get some essential work done.