Juvenile Western Rat Snake

 

I walked out my front door to find this guy on my front porch.  So of course I ran back in and got my camera.  I knew by the eyes that he was not poisonous, so I wasn't afraid.

I know he looks bigger, but he was only about 14" long.

He had a striking pattern, and I thought he was one I hadn't seen before.

Or had I?

It turns out that he is "just" a black snack.

A young one, that still shows off his gorgeous gray and black pattern.

In another year or two he will be completely black.

Egg Thief

 My first hint that there was trouble in the henhouse

was when I found part of a snakeskin in one of the nests.

But it seemed small, harmless enough.

Later the same afternoon I went to check for eggs.

Almost every day I get two, and there was none.

Hmmm.

I looked around and found the culprit.

My husband put the black snake (and his egg) in a bucket

and shipped him off to a conservation area.

Even if you don't care for snakes, you have to be impressed

by how wide he had to stretch his little mouth to take in an egg.

Midland Brownsnake Sighting

Saw this cute guy last week.

He was really more light tan than brown.

Only about 9" long.
Not poisonous.

Tree Climbing Eastern Garter Snake

 We were checking out the buds on our lilac bush when

we spied this garter snake on it.

 Maybe he was eating these little black bugs.

Such a lovely pattern....

and smile.

Spotted Kingsnake

My husband "spotted" this kingsnake when he was

moving a pile of corregated metal.  He left some

of the metal for this handsome guy to hide under.

Front Porch Visitor

 I am not particularly scared of snakes,

but I had been reading in a chair on the front porch

for about 10 minutes before i noticed this guy.

About 7 feet away!

 I thought all of the picture taking made him a little

uncomfortable,

and he was leaving ....

 No, only changing over to the adirondack chair...

 I got a close-up through the window

on his way up....

 And this is what I mean by "up" ....

He had no problem navigating the stone and brick

of our house.  From here he moved to the brick around

our front door.  By that time even I was a bit creeped out,

and stopped watching.

"Baby Prairie Ringneck Snake"

Oil Painting #6 -- "Rough Greensnake"

Urban Snake Party

Warning: The photos below may be disturbing for those 

suffering from ophidiophobia.  You know who you are.

 I was standing very still watching honeybees on the

naturalized little blue flowers in my yard.

(First year in three that I have seen any honey bees!)

Then I noticed a little snake....

then another one....

and another one....

There were at least six having a little fun in the sun.

We are moving to a rural area,

but this is a good reminder that there is plenty

of wildlife right here in the city.

I'm Out Junk Container Gardening (Finally!)

 Mondays are my gardening day, weather permitting.  Now when my father talks about gardening, he is talking vegies.  Now when I "garden", it almost never means vegies.  But it could mean digging out dandelions, edging, trimming bushes or trees, planting or tidying. 

And this time of year it always means planting succulents in vintage containers for resale.  I have an "outdoor booth" where I sell fun vintage yard and garden décor,
which includes a booming business of succulents in junk containers.

This colorful reptile has been a resident in our yard for at least a year.

He made an appearance today when I was outside.

Our cat thinks he is part of a catch & release program.

About once a week the cat finds the garter snake,

chases it around for awhile and then lets it go.

Fun for at least one of them.

 

So the temps have finally moderated enough that I

braved planting my first succulents of the season.

Who knows where I got this faux wringer washer planter.

 

I added the enamel pan planter

and a nice helping of rusty junket.

Perfection.

Three more gems from the Hastings trip.

Yes, I got my antique stamps out for them too.

See more of my planter stamping obsession here.

These are nice small hanging chicken feeders

(in their old life).

If it ever stops raining,

I'll be able to get some more junk planters potted up.

 

These plants are at my outdoor booth at the Rusty Chandelier