Grateful for Garters
My encounters with wildlife on the home front aren’t always as pleasant as my experiences in the actual “wild”. I haven’t bothered to photograph the chipmunks that attempted to burrow under the back of my house. Or the bat that once swooped through my two-story great room (it’s hard to get a good focus while you’re screaming and crawling to the nearest exit). The birds that occasionally smack into my office window make my heart drop. I’m still not sure what’s distracting these poor birds -there’s no real reflection issue that I can detect. I fear it’s yet another misuse of cell phone texting (friends have suggested the unfortunate birds were “tweeting”).
I was happily surprised the other day to look out this same window of death and find a family of snakes contentedly sunning themselves (through some heavy Ohio-ish cloud cover). They are ordinary garter snakes, now identified as sources of the rustling I hear whenever I weed that particular garden bed. The four of them lingered long enough for my kids to be thrilled and/or repulsed after school and for me to get a few photos…
I noticed that mom and dad had blue painter’s tape on a couple of their windows. Dad said it was to keep birds from flying into the windows. When I asked if it helped, he said “not that I can tell.” He couldn’t figure out what was attracting his birds, either.
I loved this: I fear it’s yet another misuse of cell phone texting (friends have suggested the unfortunate birds were “tweeting”).
I did smashed myself into the glass door a few times. The stickers helped but got faded after a few months.
I do not know whether birds are able to interpret this.
The birds are tweeting?????? Then we will have to take their phones off them, so they can watch where they are going. LOL.
nice place you got there. who needs zoos when you house has it all?
The top photo is quite magical with little heads poking up everywhere like some strange Hindu god. You sound rather relaxed about the whole thing which is more than I would manage (and Australia is nsupposedly pull of dastardly snakes).
I just can’t find the beauty in snakes, lidless and forked tongue. Whenever I see them I freak and feel repulsed. Same with eels. I guess it has something to do with growing up in country that is snakeless.
As for those twittering tweeting birds, they should know that tweeting is addictive and can make you a careless driver. In their case – flyer. I wonder how many followers your tweeting birds have? Do they tweet from the tweet deck or ???
My kids would love to find a family of snakes in our backyard! It would freak me out.
Happy Friday!
Gave you some props on our site today. Along with some of our other blogger friends.
Delmer: -Wouldn’t have thought of the tape, but I won’t try that now… No birds this week, thankfully. Sometimes they just shake it off and fly away.
Donald: I think birds were tweeting before people ever did.
Rainfield: Sounds like you have one really clean glass door!
Cheap Soma: Exactly. I just hope they stay in their designated habitats and don’t venture into the house.
Mark: They’re a harmless variety. As long as they don’t get any closer than atop my shrubs, I’m fine with them.
Cate: I think the bird is a great object lesson. Keep your eyes on the road…er, the window.
Bring Back Pluto: My kids used to catch them to show their friends. Not something I would do either!
The Guys: Thanks much! I haven’t been a very faithful blogger this past week. I’ll check it out!