New Visitors To The Garden

When we bought this house and put in our backyard, we had frogs. No, not as pets. There's a storm detention pond beyond our fence and a large wetlands area and field beyond the pond. In addition, we had installed a two level pond in our own yard. The wetlands are a natural breeding ground for frogs and the ponds just added more habitat. Breeding season is unbelievably loud. Apparently frog romance requires lots of serenading.

Any time I worked in the yard, there would be frogs. Under leaves, on top of leaves, in the grass, under the rocks, on the rocks, on the side of the damn house. I've been heard screaming on more than one occasion. It's not that I'm afraid of frogs, I'm not really. But I am afraid of most anything that hides, and then jumps away from me at me when I least expect it.

We have since taken out our ponds, and now most of the frogs stay on the other side of the fence by the storm detention pond and in the wetlands. I believe we've actually had fewer the last couple of years and I choose to believe it has to do with weather and not the poison shit storm chemicals that my neighbors pour on their yards and down the storm drains (despite the signs warning them that the storm drains go straight to the pond). Occasionally one or two come to visit, but we've maintained a truce.

This year, we've had a new kind of visitor. These visitors are a bit more unwelcome. No, a lot more unwelcome. For no valid reason other than... well... just EWWWWW.

We have snakes. SNAKES! Snakes on a plane - snakes in the garden - same difference.

I'd seen one a week or two ago. I didn't think anything of it. After all, there's a giant field and wetlands behind the house, right? But then Wednesday, The Boy walked through the front yard dragging the hose so he could wash my car (I'm so lucky!!), and not one, not two, THREE snakes slithered through the grass and into the little shrubs in front of the porch.

By the way? Anything that requires the word "slither" to describe it's natural movement is EWWWW!

Again, I thought it was a fluke. A freak occurrence. But noooooo, today I go to hook up the sprinkler in the back and the entire neighborhood heard this:

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
That was me. Yelling in shock as a deadly huge four inch baby garter snake slithered away from the sprinkler. (There's that word slither again.)

Houston, we have a problem.

That is one too many snakes in my yard for my liking. Where the heck are those hawks that are always hanging around eating these things? Whatever mother nature needs to do this winter to bring some balance back, I hope she does it. Because snakes I can do without.

***Ally
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