If there is one thing that country life gets one accustomed to...
it's all things creepy and crawly!
It's unavoidable.
Some people have an innate response of revulsion at the mere sight of
these creatures.
Luckily, I am not affected in that manner.
I have learned to take these creepy-crawly and slithering beings in my stride.
Hubbs, on the other hand is not a fan... especially when the element of surprise
is added to the equation.
Last summer, one morning, as I was raising the garage door on the tractor shed,
a snake fell from overhead onto my shoulder and then down onto the ground.
Amazingly, I was un-phased.
Many would have passed out, I am sure.
Last week, the same thing happened to Jack.
Door raised... snake fell from above.
Amazingly, he, too, was relatively un-phased...
although it wasn't the type of surprise he enjoys.
After that incident, Jack did a little investigating inside the garage,
only to find that Sir Snake (a black snake) has made the garage
his home and spends much of his time on the horizontal wood that runs just beneath the roof line.
Sometimes he can be found lounging directly above the garage door,
sometimes, on top of the cabinets.
The up-side of having this fellow (or gal) hanging out in the garage is
the fact that he/she will keep the rodent population in check.
As I see it... this is the major benefit of having snakes around...
and why I am all for it!
Yesterday, Jack was getting the picnic pavilion ready for the summer.
He opened the gas grill and found this
in the warming tray.
"Let me get its picture!" I called.
And then I decided to go one step further....
helping Mrs. Slithers find a new home.
The warming tray was a brilliant escape from the storms of the past 24 hours, I am sure.
We are now quite damp again... which is good for the garden.
Fog settled over the farm yesterday morning...
making all of our grazers look just a little mysterious.
It wasn't long until the sun burnt off all of the fog to reveal a spectacular, sunny day.
The right combination of sun and rain has helped to make everything
that I have planted this spring start to grow.
The fairy gardens have filled in nicely.
And we are once again eating from the vegetable garden on a daily basis.
Not in the mood to make pie crust, I used our garden rhubarb
and made a strawberry rhubarb crisp instead.
Yummy!
When my travels through the countryside reveal a new greenhouse,
I find that my car just automatically turns in and parks.
It's been so much fun filling up the gardens.
Last week I found this new (to me) plant... called a Popcorn Plant.
When you rub the leaves between your thumb and forefinger, it releases
the scent of fresh, hot buttered popcorn.... I kid you not!
The popcorn cassia (Senna didymobotrya) comes from central and Eastern Africa and is a legume.
And lastly... the show that I saw this weekend in NYC was this...
a story about the days immediately following 9/11...
when the small town of Gander, Newfoundland
extended their hospitality to the passengers of 38 planes
that were ordered to land in their airfield when the skies over the US were emptied
of all flights.
If it ever comes to a city near you... make sure to see it.
It is a gem that will make you laugh and cry, and remind you of
the greatness of which humanity is capable.
To "The JR"... Ginger and MaryAnn are indeed Kunekune pigs.
They have a stall that is always open to their yard through a door
that is just big enough for them... too small for a bear.
They have a large Dutch door on the front of their stall -
of which the top remains open in the summer for better ventilation,
but closed in the winter to conserve warmth.
The only animals that get closed up at night are the birds -
to protect against fox, coyote, possum, mink, raccoon and any other critters
who think they might like a chicken, or other fowl, dinner.
To "The JR"... Ginger and MaryAnn are indeed Kunekune pigs.
They have a stall that is always open to their yard through a door
that is just big enough for them... too small for a bear.
They have a large Dutch door on the front of their stall -
of which the top remains open in the summer for better ventilation,
but closed in the winter to conserve warmth.
The only animals that get closed up at night are the birds -
to protect against fox, coyote, possum, mink, raccoon and any other critters
who think they might like a chicken, or other fowl, dinner.
Comments
Ramona
Glad you had some time for yourself.