Its Julia again with another bulletin from the wilderness. Okay, its not really the wilderness, but its a lot closer to it than I ever imagined Id be living. On the Under-The-House Bunch: There are definitely three kittens, and the mother is still fiercely protective. She allows me to come under the house to bring food and water, but does not permit me either to touch her or approach her babies. The closest Ive gotten is about ten feet. And she doesnt like my flashlight at all. Im sure she thinks its a weapon of some sort. Right now I am just working on getting her to realize I wouldnt ever hurt her babies. And I make very, very sure that I block the entrance at night. On the Fort Knox Bunch: All is calm and quiet in Fort Knox. Too calm and quiet. Ive learned from experience, and so has Catherine, that this means one or more of those chickens is plotting devilment. Maybe we havent seen hide nor hair of the cougar since the coop was relocated, but we sure saw a coyote, up close, a short time ago, so that threat is still very real. And they like cats as well as chickens. On The Cinnamon Ridge Critter Front: Catherine reports that Sam didnt come home last night. Lucky was never seen again after he vanished. Cross your fingers that he returns home safely. Ill keep you updated. On The Other Wild Critter Front: My grandson visited this afternoon after church, and after hed made the rounds of all of his critter friends he headed right for the strawberry patch to see if there were any big red berries. There were, and he came in with red fingers and a red mouth and a huge grin. He reported that there was a little green snake in the vegetable garden. He knows what a rattlesnake looks like, and he assured me this was not one of them. I told him I know about that snake and that it was harmless. Kyle told me that the snake had said he wanted to be Kyles pet. Busy at the dual tasks of icing my knee and looking up the recipe for Kyles favorite brownies, I didnt pay nearly as much attention to that last remark as I should have. After the timer went off and I could get the ice bag off of my knee I levered myself upward and hopped over to the kitchen counter to start making brownies. A large saucepan with the lid on it was sitting on the counter. Without thinking much about it, I picked it up and popped it into the left-hand side of the double sink, where I keep what is going to go into the dishwasher. After Id made the brownies, I began rinsing off the dirty dishes and loading the machine. Then I picked up the pot and in one quick gesture jerked the lid off and upended the pot on the top shelf of the dishwasher. And out, and into my dishwasher, came a live green snake! If Catherine heard a strange noise clear up on Cinnamon Ridge, it was probably my shriek of astonishment and fright. The snake hung over the top wires of the dishwasher and then slid down and landed in the bottom, raising his head and glaring at me with his little forked tongue coming in and out. He didnt look remotely happy, and he sure wasnt the only one. How was I going to get him out of there without reaching in and grabbing him? I knew he wasnt poisonous, and almost undoubtedly would not sink his fangs into me, but I still didnt want to pick him up! Naturally during this crisis I couldnt locate my oven mitts, and then I remembered they were in the dryer. I got a wooden spoon and tried to get it under him, but the snake took up the troublesome position that I was attempting to assassinate him and kept wiggling out of reach. Jesse, my big striped cat, heard the ruckus and came into the kitchen to see if Id dropped any edible food, and when he saw me dancing around in front of the dishwasher he came over and peered inside. When he saw the snake he started to climb inside! Just what I needed...both a cat and a snake in my dishwasher! I extracted Jesse with a lot less gentleness than I usually employ, and ignored his insulted stare. He turned his rump on me, tail high, and stalked off. That left me one-on-one with the snake. I snatched up one of my best dish towels, took a huge breath for courage, reached in and snatched up the snake with the towel, and began scurrying for the door. Of course, you know whats coming...I dropped him. An undignified scramble ensued before I finally cornered him behind the plastic kitchen garbage can. And that time I got him to the door and tossed him. He was last seen slithering rapidly toward the woods. I think hes given up on the vegetable garden!
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 03:36:56 +0000
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