Saturday, June 26, 2010

Snake check...

This part has nothing to do with snakes but thought I'd share some pix... the "new" garden bench I found on Craig's List... the one I bought from the Denver market last year rotted. Whaaaa! I sat on it and it busted. And of COURSE I don't think I need to lose weight... heh heh.

It was unfinished so I'm coating the crap out of it with Minwax sealant... This looks like your plain white geranium. Oh-ho! Do not be fooled people. This is the first ever YELLOW geranium. I saw it advertised on the sign at the nursery I pass on my way to and from work...."First ever in the U.S. - yellow geranium - available til gone!"

I bought one.

Furry Husband says, "How do you KNOW it's the only yellow geranium?" I really don't... I took the nursery sign at face value. So call me a sucker....


Our rose bush... this thing will outlive us all in the event of a nuclear melt down. It blooms wildly for 2 weeks in June and then it makes plans for world domination.

We cut it back to the ground one year per the advice of a landscaper... we did it later than we should have and we were worried we may have killed it.

No.

We simply made it stronger.

The sad part of this picture is that we had black-eyed susans planted in front of it and none of them came back. I don't think I'll try again... my vision of thick, happy black eyed susans nodding in the breeze all summer long has been destroyed. sniff.


And now here's something you'll really enjoy! (do you remember those Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons?)

Friday night, Mojo, our giant black kitty ... someone had to have removed him from a litter o' panthers and stuck him into a litter of barn cats... was all a-gog. He kept looking, running and was repeatedly trying to get to the other side of the garden square fence.

I figured there was a vole or a mouse playing in the weeds or something.

Didn't give it another thought.

Until....

Furry Husband pointed out a big ol' snake on the other side of the fence! I handed him a manure fork. We smooshed the snake under the fork to examine it closely without allowing it to strike.

Turns out it was a 4-5' long bull snake.

They mimic a rattler and their markings are similar ... but there were NO rattles on it's yellow and black striped tail.. We relaxed and watched the now EXTREMELY pissed off snake coiling and hissing and striking.

Then I thought... OH! Perfect opportunity to test out the rattlesnake clinic the dogs went to!

I brought each dog, one at a time, on lead from the house. Bequia didn't want to go near the snake. Sammy didn't want to go near the snake. Toe.... well..... Toe ran to the snake to investigate but stopped about 3 feet away.

And for Toe, this is showing quite a bit of restraint. His m.o. is to run in (just because he's short does not mean he is slow that's fer sure!) touch, grab or eat whatever it is before the hoo-man can say "leave it" or grab him and take the "prize" away...

Since he was still SO interested in the snake, I did give him some leash corrections with a very firm LEAVE IT.... he got the point....

We went inside to get the camera and when we came out the snake was gone without a trace. He slithered away from our place as fast as his little scales could carry him....

Who can blame him? He'd been smooshed, poked, prodded and used as bait for 3 dogs.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't like snakes, when we lived in AZ we once found a recently shed snake skin that measured 5 and a half feet long. Other than the fact that I was totally freaked it was actually pretty cool, even the eyes were covered. Weird. Kids had a field day taking it to school and showing everyone. Still, I hate snakes.....they just lie there, so quietly, all curled up......ICK!!

Shanster said...

they certainly ARE startling... and wow, if you accidentally stepped on one??? Oh - giving myself the willies... usually tho' I don't like the things that spring out at you... grasshoppers for instance... gulp!