SSsssnakes!

On our daily morning walk the dogs came across a rattler. I heard it rattle and called them off, and they came right away. We made a wide berth, and that was it. I was proud of them not harassing the snake (bad manners), and for coming when called. Both Shawna and Emma have been vaccinated against rattlesnake bites, but it is so much better to leave the wildlife alone.

Later in the morning I found a rattlesnake impostor, a bull snake, in the potting shed. He is most welcome to stay there. Aside from being non-venomous perhaps he will catch the pack rat that I have been trying to evict for the last month or so. I am not particularly fond of the pack rat because he makes a mess of my stuff and currently brings in hundreds of mesquite pods for his winter forage. If the bull snake does not catch him, I will put out the live trap. Poisoning pack rats is not successful as they just hoard the bait rather than eat it, besides, I would just as soon not kill him.

I am sorry for not having a snake picture to share, but I did not want to get too close with the dogs in hand, and the bull snake was curled around some pots. Or perhaps I should include a photo of one of my chickens..... :-).