I don’t want to scare any of the people who are scared of snakes. So below is a nice benign image to begin.
Though – The Fellowship is a pretty tough bunch after all these years.
Quacker came shrieking over for some dinner yesterday evening. Still no sign of chicks.
And it was while she was eating that I went in to collect the last of the eggs and get the chook house ready for night.
And found this:
Just inside the door – and I only noticed the snake on the way OUT the door. Shudders.
Naturally I left smartly because I do not do snakes. I quickly emailed my friend Kim P and she identified it as ‘not a problem’ maybe a Chicago Garter Snake.
However it is a snake and I could not find it again to sweep it out ( more shudders) so I am going to be super careful going forward and John can deal with it when he gets back.
He grew up with snakes. I grew up with seagulls!
There is a theory that we are either afraid of mice or afraid of snakes. Are you a mouse person or a snake person.
For the record I am not afraid of mice.
Let’s go to the pond for a calm down.
With Boo.
The wheat is going golden fast. And too early. Not enough rain.
While John is away I am not using any indoor lights (as my carbon copay for all my driving lately) I see why the old people eat early. So they could make dinner in the daylight!
And I am only eating what I grow. Which cuts plastic use right down. (Another co-pay).
I love dialing my life down to the bones like this. And with no internet at the farm it really is quiet. Plus my phone only gets coverage in a few select spots out here. So no phone either.
(Driving back and forth to The Matriarchs to use her internet is quite the chore- not to mention the gas. Boo is happy though. He loves riding in the car.)
The blog migration is coming along a pace but still giving us trouble. Because that is how these things are.
My dinner was: Greens, weeds. Zuchinni. Young onions. Meatballs and boiled eggs.
Breakfast will be greens in an omelette as usual.
The thing we forget about eating seasonally is that it becomes a little repetitive.
There is a broccoli head getting close and I am watching it carefully. The rabbits have eaten all my beans and a row of peas. We have not had a rabbit problem in years.
And of course Boo was trained not to chase rabbits when Nelson arrived. So now I have to retrain him to chase rabbits out of my gardens.
I hope they don’t decide to have a go at the raised beds where my other peas are. And all the beets! And lots of stuff! The tomatoes are barely moving – too cold. I woke up to 48f this morning. The temp dropped thirty degrees overnight.
Great for greens though. Lucky I love them! I hope you have a good day.
And I hope you were not scared by the snake.
I was.
Good morning!
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
55 responses to “Playing Snakes and Ladders: the real kind.”
Not afraid of snakes, mice, rats, spiders of much of any of the animals , very respectful though of bears and coyotes. I used to catch garter snakes in the prairie as a kid and bring them home, show my grandmother and parents then take them back and let them go to catch again. They never seemed to mind as they weren’t hurt at all. My step-son once caught a garter snake and dumped the poor thing in my lap while I was out on the porch, I just let it curl up and get warm then let it go, He didn’t get the scream he was hoping for and I told him not to bother the snakes anymore. My late spouse caught 4 deer mice and kept them as pets – lots of fun to watch and they loved the hamster wheel. My uncle had a hatchery when I was a kid and one rooster was truly dangerous, he went after everyone and finally ended up in the stew pot. Go Amish and get a horse and buggy, no more gasoline to buy or burn. One of the farmers I met here said that if they succeed in banning cars and trucks we all better get used to horse and buggy or wagons again and he’s kept his wagon in good repair just in case as well as keeping a horse.
I would use a horse and buggy if I had one! Though I don’t think anyone is trying to ban trucks and cars. Just slow down the gasoline use and emissions.
I don’t mind mice but not in the house or shed, and snakes are OK unless they’re poisonous or aggressive. I capture any live mice that get inside using a lidded container and move them on but I hate dead things, so my hubby gets rid of the ones caught in traps (neighbour’s chooks love ’em) and deals with unwelcome snakes.
Eggs and greens… always a meal.
How very sweet of you to gift the dead rodents to the neighbours chooks! That gave me a laugh!
I actually quite like snakes and most reptiles, had pet hamsters as a kid, they’re kind of mouse like. However, I truly dislike spiders and bugs, anything with more than four legs.
Interesting what we like and dislike. I wonder where these preferences come from – we are all so different!
As a 7 or 8 year old with pneumonia my fever dreams were of spiders and bugs crawling on my bed, that did it for me!
Oh no! That would be a nightmare!
I’m not a fan of snakes! Mice and small rodents (not rats!), though, I don’t mind. I grew up in an old farmhouse, built on the side of a hill, and the wall at the back must have somehow had some gaps in it as we’d sometimes find tiny little shrews wandering around in the scullery at the back. They were very cute with their long noses. Plenty of field mice outside too – when I was little and complained about walking, my mum would come up with creative stories about a family of field mice to coax me along and distract me. It worked!
I hope the blog migration is going well and your internet woes are solved soon. By the way, do you have my email address for the migration?
I will check that I have your email when I get into town to open those documents.
The migration is not going well due to SO MANY images and so many comments! So we may only migrate a month or so. The archives here will stay live so all those photos and comments will stay with us.
My internet woes are permanent until John gets back but by then I will be out the door to NZ! So I guess my next Goff connection will be in California as I travel
Your mothers mouse stories sound delightful as do the little shrews. Childhood memories!
I’m scared stiff, which is what happens when I see one … one being a snake. This fear is down to my mother who screamed when a snake wrapped around my ankle when we sat on picnic blanket in the garden eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I was 4.
And you hear her scream forever. Do you think of it now when you eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches? (which sound quite dreadful by the way)
Mum only made food that she liked. 😂
Totally fair!!
Garter snakes aren’t my favorite because I like catching snakes, and when you catch them, they MUSK ALL OVER YOU! A lot of snakes will do that in self-defense, and it smells so bad that it’s easy to understand why it works. Garter snakes are very inclined. Once, one of my Malagasy Ground Boas musked on me. It got all over the band of my smart watch. When I got home, my dog-monster smelled my watch band and ran away to hide in the corner, trembling.
Ah I see you did see the snake!
Poor dog monster!
I’m not a big fan of either. I give snakes a respectful distance, even the benign carpet snakes that keep the rodents at bay. Ours (Arnie the ExTerminator) is currently awol because winter, so the rodents are tearing into the chook food. I don’t mind sparing a bit of food, everyone has to live, but I wish they wouldn’t pee and poop on it and spoil it for everyone, so just now, I’m hating mice more because they’re so destructive. At least it’s winter and they’re not breeding right now.
I like snakes. As for the mice – well, they attract owls don’t they?
They do! Yes. And snakes eat the mice too. But – you know – I was not brought up with snakes.
I’m thinking, with that beauty standing guard, that you wouldn’t have many mice left to be afraid of, in any case Celi? Sadly, either mouse or chick would likely be as tasty to your Grand Garter, yeah?
The chickens are pretty good mousers too!
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Just a harmless garter snake. Look at that wittle face, really kinda cute. And I’m afraid you have planted a rabbit buffet! FTR Not Afraid of Mice or most snakes, I’m very afraid of Rats.