Wild Neighbors

When we decided to live in a rural setting we knew that many other inhabitants were already here.  For the most part we enjoy an occasional glimpse of the wild life that calls this place home.  Plant loss is part of the equation and we accept that consequence.  A partial bucket of crushed oyster shell is stored under an inverted trash can.  Snakes were discovered between the two containers.  On this day I asked Becky if she wanted to try for snake photos.  Lifting the outer covering can revealed a mouse nest in the bucket.  One quick jump to the rim was followed by a drop to the ground.  The mouse ran over the snake and disappeared into the weeds.

That bulge in the center of the Eastern Garter snake's body may well be an earlier mouse meal.  Only one mouse was in the nest where there should have been two.  If the snake is digesting a mouse, that is fine with us.  We never molest a snake when we encounter one because we want them working on rodent control.

Clearly, there are two snakes in the picture and a shed skin.  The scale pattern on the shed skin matches the stripes on the garter snake.  Scales on the milk snake are more regular in shape.  A cloudy blue eye can be seen on the milk snake indicating that it is about to shed its skin.  We will look for this snake again soon.  The bright colors on new skin are worth seeing.

It would be less than honest to fail to mention our standard response when we happen across a snake. Becky always screams with a sharp volume only heard when a snake is unexpectedly underfoot.  I always leap into the air where I remain for a really long time.  My airborne gyrations defy the laws of physics while sending me away from the snake.  You would think we would get over it, but our response is still the same whenever the unexpected slither is underfoot.

Garden Prints

The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue.  When I looked out the window this morning I noticed some interesting tracks in the garden.  I put on my boots, hat, and coat and headed outside with the camera.  This first set of prints are on the patio at the top of the ramp from the basement.  I'm pretty sure they belong to a skunk.  The diagonal pattern is distinctive.  These tracks went down the ramp to the basement door.   We give the outdoors to the critters after dark with good reason.  I must have been sheltered from the wind by the house because at first it seemed quite nice out but it was really cold.



I headed over to another set of promising looking footprints.  These I think, and really hope, are fox tracks.  The straight line of double register prints make the chances of my wish being true very good indeed.  If the fox has returned to our garden, it is most welcome.   In its absence the numbers of mice have increased dramatically.  We haven't had a lot of new snow, but now the wind was blowing hard enough to make swirls of snow that danced across the garden.  I found more tracks from mice and birds to photograph, but with the temperatures in the teens, and the wind incredibly cold I headed in. When I checked my pictures I found that the longer I stayed out, the more blurry my photos became. Maybe I was shivering enough to move the camera or maybe I was in a hurry to get back inside.  It's too chilly outside today for me.