Two Wheels - Six Strings

Random news and thoughts about various two-wheeled projects and music, especially my band, Skull Full Of Blues.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Where's Samuel L. Jackson When You Need Him?

There is an overgrown vacant lot behind my house, home to many, many mice.. Every Fall, as the weather gets colder, I become host to a few of those mice who come in from the cold.

Tonight, as I sat on my couch watching TV, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.



"Oh, great," I thought, "a mouse."

No mouse, though. Instead, I saw this little fellow crawling across my livingroom rug.



It's an eight to nine-inch garden snake. I've seen a couple of these guys around my front door, over the past few months, and I know there is a gap in the foundation where yellowjackets got in and built a nest a couple of years ago. I figured the snakes were living under the house, and was kinda hoping they might dissuade the mice from moving in, so I didn't bother them.

Now, though, I don't know what to do with this one. It's sorta cold out, and it's supposed to snow, tonight. So, I'm afraid to just put him outside. However, I don't think the pint Ball Mason jar is an appropriate home for him either.

And, the overarching question in all of this: Am I going to have snakes literally coming out of the woodwork all winter?

x

3 Comments:

At 4:56 PM , Blogger katina said...

You know, I've got this thing about snakes...I probably would have jumped on the couch and pointed at the snake and yelled "Snake!" a bunch until someone finally showed up to take care of it...though, I realize that if I were in your situation that might be a while...I can see the phone call to work now "I'm sorry, I can't come in today because there's a snake crawling around in my living room and I'm taking refuge by standing on my couch."

 
At 5:28 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Put it "On the motherfuckn' plane!"

 
At 4:08 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jon, you can feel good about putting it back where you found it for several reasons; Cited from several gardening sites:

"Most garter snakes (Called so because of the garter pattern around their belly) give birth to between 20 and 40 babies per litter. Unfortunately, despite their harmless nature, many people fear garter snakes. And yet these docile creatures play an important role in your garden's ecosystem - they eat earthworms, frogs, and mice, among other things.
In turn, they provide an important food source for many birds and mammals...."
A garter snake's first instinct when faced with an oncoming predator, such as man, is to hide. Most times you won't even know that there are snakes around. If backed into a corner, many snakes will try to bluff their way out through a show of temper. It is only once picked up that garter snakes will attempt to bite. They will also release a foul-smelling musky liquid as a form of defence. That's the worst that the situation will get, which is no biggie....

In the winter snakes hibernate. Incapable of long migrations, snakes must find a suitable hibernaculum in the vicinity of their summer haunts. They require a secure den with a low temperature that remains above freezing, which your foundation may provide for them.

 

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