Good morning!!!!

[dave1949]

Drew, shop is looking good...glad it didn't fall victim to your local fire.

Here is our recent resident black snake deciding to use my rocking chair (or trying to look like part of the chair and fool me into sitting down).

Holy Smokes! What have you been feeding that thing? :laughing: Does it sleep in the old fishing creel?

 

[daugen]

WOW!!! Kudows to you! If that was my house, there would no longer be a rocker, a table and there would be a big hole in the side of the house from my 12 gauge. I truly hate snakes. When in the fields I try to work around them cause I figure I am on their turf, but up on the porch... NO WAY!!!

No way Jose is right.
Hmmm, my three inch bright fluorescent green geckos are just smaller cousins, sort of...seem kind of peaceful though thankfully. Geico sure wouldn't want their mascot ripping someone's finger off and causing a claim...
Kev, I'm with you, the porch is my turf, not their turf...
I have a giant can of pepper spray. Wonder how a snake likes that.
Man I think we all have the snake heebee jeebees looking at these big snakes.

so I'm going to report in on a gentler creature, I hope. At least one of the baby rabbits isn't so small any more, hippety hopping around the yard, successfully stymied from the vegetables or the berries (which got bird netting today), but
terminally cute so of course I left a plate of carrots out there. The local supermarket has two pounds of carrots for a buck. How anyone can grow and market carrots to sell at fifty cents a pound astonishes me but such a deal for the rabbits. Their favorite food is available extra cheap. Fatten them up for Mr. Hawk. Didn't see any siblings, but maybe my five foot snake ate one of them...
the plot thickens

I have chairs and a swing on my front porch and the idea of sitting down on the swing and having a giant snake slither down on me is so comforting. Free bonding with the wildlife, as they bond toothily with me...

 

[KevT]

Drew, you are a good person and a gentle soul. I am willing to feed the critters I bring here, but the rabbits, Deer, skunks, armadillos, and turtles have to fend for themselves. I don't hurt them, but I ain't feedin em

 

[Larro Darro]

Drew, you are a good person and a gentle soul. I am willing to feed the critters I bring here, but the rabbits, Deer, skunks, armadillos, and turtles have to fend for themselves. I don't hurt them, but I ain't feedin em

The bottom line is the one that I worry about. Snakes have never cost me a dime. But rabbits, deer, {we don't have skunks anymore} and armadillos have cost me plenty, thus they are varmints. As varmints, it's always open season on them. Snakes actually eat varmints, so they save me money. Now Sister and BIL, who sell eggs and chickens might have a different opinion on what is a varmint.

 

[rswyan]

Cloudy and 70F @ 23:00 ... may have a t-storm tonight ... then cooler but clear and sunny with no precip in the forecast for the next four days ...

The woman and I cleaned out the hosta beds around the shop yesterday and then she went on a tear weeding the peonies in the circle in front of the house. She's become a death dealer to the volunteer raspberries that are invading the circle ... ever since I hooked her up with a little jar of 2,4-D/glyphosate combo and a small foam brush :laughing:

Even got to hear about how good her idea to do cut end treatments was ...

While we were up at the shop my neighbor Kent, who has the sheep, was clearing his side of the fence line so he could run a couple of wires just inside the perimeter to keep his mutt from digging under the fence. He said there was a dead deer about 100 yards back towards his house, on my side, that looked like it had gotten tangled up in the fence. Said something had been gnawing on it's head.

Went up and checked it out this morning ... looked to be a couple years old mebbe ...lotsa flies ... so it's probably been there a few days ...

Hopefully the vultures will show up soon and pick it clean and save me having to mess with it ... need to mow along the fence line.

That was after the guy from the gas company that handles their wells stopped by ... found out that that the transmission line that I thought was by the house ain't ... what the deal was, was that that was where they were thinking about installing a high pressure line when the put the well in. They ended up going a different route to hook into their system.

He also staked the 100' mark due north and due south of the well head ... which is their easement around the well.

So the only thing I have to worry about is not hitting the line that runs from the meter to the house. It's low pressure but I still wouldn't want to hit it ... it's either a 3" or 4" ...

Got the downspout drain dug out on the southwest corner of the house and installed one new section of PVC on it ... has good slope. Probably stick another one on there to extend it out before I transition to the 4" corrugated flex that's already in the ground. Hauled about 8 bucket loads of topsoil down from the upper field and started to fill it in:

 

[RoyJackson]

2015-05-19, 0250

64 now...high of 80 today with a 60% probability of rain or t'storms

 

[Eric Salop]

At the weekend I was collecting wood from the overhanging oak branches I cut down last year, before the grass grows too long to find them again. Didn't want the mower to find the logs first come hay time. Doesn't take long this time of year for grass and weeds to suddenly explode into growth. The shaded path between the trees at the far end is looking pretty lush.



Also came across some wood that was cut over 10 years ago. One piece was the remnants of a twisted sycamore tree. At the time a friend, now sadly gone, was showing me how to use a chainsaw on more difficult trees. Before cutting, I had to say how I would cut it and which way it would fall. When we got to that one, he took the chainsaw off me to cut it himself. He told me how he intended to make the cuts and which way he wanted it to fall. Then he said the tree may have a different opinion, he knew which way to run and I didn't !

We are not quite self sufficient in wood for the fire, so eventually I get around to cutting up all the rough pieces that once supported the fence line.





Wngsprd : Have you sat in the rocker since the snake visit ? I'd always be looking over my shoulder .

 

[vtsnowedin]

A nice light rain falling here this morning. just when we need it.

 

[Thomas]

"Ayup! Etna road and route 120. "
About 3 1/2 miles from my back yard...be careful those cell/text drivers.

 

[Thomas]

58F light shower high upper 70's chance t-storms.
2 deer munching on green grass lower field and hen turkey pecking front lawn,cat got her death stare on the hen.:laughing:

Enjoy the day all.