Critters...

One of the interesting things about living where we do, which is not really city, but not really rural either, is that there are critters. A sundry assortment of them, I might add.

We have coyote, deer, fox, raccoon, skunk, ground squirrels, regular squirrels, snakes, salamanders, moles, stray cats and dogs and the list goes on.

Here's the thing.  I don't really care for critters other than my own dogs and other peoples pets when I visit.  Sure I like to watch deer stroll thru the yard even though I have been relieving myself in the early morning while taking our dog out, and a deer runs by and nearly causes another form of "relief" that I am unprepared for.

So, last weekend I was out tilling the gardens, getting them prepared for Spring planting when Robby came around the corner and said, "Dad, I just saw a snake!".  I grilled him on the whereabouts of this current incarnation of Satan himself, and he said... to my horror, in the garage!

I go around the corner and there he is;  laying right where the garage floor and the outdoor slab of concrete meet.  So I, like any full-grown adult male, issue a command for one of the boys to go around back of the house and summons Mama to come out and deal with this wretched situation.

Mom comes out and after a few attempts to get the snake moving in a direction that is acceptable, he went down beneath the garage floor in an effort to haunt me for the next 9 months...  great...  If you would like a far more in depth depiction of my love of serpents, click here.

Then, Mama put a bird feeder out and it finally attracted birds after a week or two.  Very nice!  It also attracted a very nimble squirrel!

This is a bad picture, thru the screen, after he did his most acrabatic feats, but he was perched upside down using his back legs and tail as leverage, front paws and mouth to get to the bird food!  There's dedication to a craft and then there's dedication to a craft!

And then tonight...  I go downstairs to procure a malty, highly hopped beverage and glance over towards the door from behind the bar.  I see what I believe to be, a dead rat.  I muster courage that would cause most men to faint and head over to check out the carcass.  Turns out it is a camoflauge bandana from one of the boys' halloween costumes.

Such is my life...