Monday, March 16, 2009

A Snake in the Grass

It was a lovely afternoon and the temperature shot up to 88 degrees in my neck of the woods. I was sitting outside on the curb of my driveway with my feet in the grass, watching the dogs play. Then I noticed there were two lizards on a nearby tree. One was only a few inches long and blended well with the tree bark. The other was very colorful and at least seven inches. They both appeared to be watching me, which I thought was rather odd.

Suddenly my cat was beside me, creeping as if in attack mode. I assumed he was going after the lizards, so I held him back and told him to leave my friends alone. Instead, he continued to push forward, even struggling with me. He is a very large cat and as I turned to grab him with both hands he broke free and took a leap near my feet...and that was when I realized he was not chasing the lizards! There was a four foot garter snake in the grass and it was moving across the top of one of my garden shoes!

I grabbed the cat and ran up the driveway. I wasn't afraid of the snake as much as I was spooked by the fact that it was so close and I didn't even know it! I'm not sure if the cat was going to try and eat it or if he was trying to protect me. Niblet is a very protective cat and generally growls when someone pulls into our driveway a few seconds or when he hears sounds outside.

I'm really not comfortable with the cat chasing snakes, though. We also found a cottonmouth on our property a few days ago and there are a few other poisonous varieties of snakes in our area. We have two ponds and a spring-fed creek on the property and attract all kinds of wildlife, which is why the cat is generally an indoor cat. I must admit that I was glad he snuck out this afternoon. I appreciated the warning that there was a snake on my foot!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Soggy Seeds

It has been raining here for days now. We had a sudden cold front move through the Hill Country and I was worried the little creatures might be shivering in the cold, so I've been checking their snacks and water supplies four times a day. The seeds get soggy on occasion when the rain gets heavy, but so far no one seems to mind. I try to keep the seeds dry and dump the ones that get too soggy so nothing molds.

The momma squirrel now makes a regular afternoon trip to the covered patio outside my bedroom door. She sits on the bright red table top and munches her sunflower seeds, watching me through the glass as I do my yoga routine. She's no longer bothered by the cat watching her through the door. She obviously understands the cat cannot get to her. Nevertheless, Niblet stares and chatters and makes funny noises as if he's actually considering taking a leap at the glass. I've noticed, however, that the cat doesn't even try to sneak outside anymore. I think he enjoys watching the little creatures as much as I do. It's his kitty television.

The birds have been making their regular appearances, as well, even when the rain is falling. It surprises me that they'll brave the chilly weather for a quick nip of bird seed, but they do. I am diligent about making sure they have clean water around the house. I was surprised by how much they appreciate the bowls of water I've set out for them.

I was watching the baby squirrels eating on the back picnic table this morning when I noticed two new creatures. I still can't figure out what exactly these creatures might be! I thought they were ground squirrels, but they look nothing like the pictures on the internet. They look a bit mousy, but they were much, much larger than mice. They weren't marmots. They were not rats. My husband and I both watched them through the binoculars, but neither one of us could come up with a logical guess.

They were the size of baby squirrels, but they didn't have the white lines around their eyes that most squirrels do and their tails seemed shorter. They came out of the hundred year plants near the base and ran beneath the table, then buried themselves in the dried leaves and mulch. They appeared to be searching for seeds that the squirrels were knocking through the gaps in the picnic table. They got along fine with the squirrels, too, which was interesting because the brother and sister squirrel, who were babies last year, tend to chase each other around now and get into all kinds of playful trouble. Perhaps the squirrels were just too cold to notice there were intruders on the ground!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

A Gathering

I have been mourning the loss of my turtle friend and find myself frequently gazing out my bedroom window, still searching for him in his pond. I noticed that there seems to be more birds congregating in this area. Perhaps they, too, miss my turtle friend!

Early this morning, I heard a ruckus as I was getting out of the shower so I crept to the picture window to look outside, careful not to disturb any of the creatures with quick, sudden movements. A flock of birds had landed and they were taking turns bathing in the pond. Many of the birds stood in the tiered sections of the pond, dipping their heads into the water and shaking their feathers. These were medium-sized birds with red breasts like the robins in Colorado, but they have white lines around their eyes.

As I watched from the window I noticed more birds joining the flock. There was a yellow breasted bird with gray top feathers and a handful of tiny gray birds I had noticed in the backyard earlier. There was even two female cardinals. I sat on the bed and counted my visitors. At one point, there was at least fifty birds bathing in the pond, sitting on the rocks or watching from the pecan tree that stretches its branches over the water. I have never seen so many birds in this pond before. I hope they make the pond their regular morning stop because it was wonderful to watch.

Eulogy for a Friend

Crush was a red-eared slider turtle, and a good friend. He was an old man. How old, I cannot say. I rescued him from a windowless elementary school classroom in Colorado where he lived in a small tank. Although it was not the best environment for him, he was obviously happy with the attentions he received from the children. Crush loved to talk to people and would often swim close when he heard human voices. He also preferred to be fed by hand and never once nipped my fingers. I did not teach him this; it was a skill he learned from the children at the school. They also, apparently, named him Fred, but I didn’t learn this until later. I named him Crush after a character in the movie Finding Nemo, but Fred seems more appropriate considering his age and personality.

I knew Crush was a male. I didn’t have to look it up in a book, but I eventually did. He looked like an older, wizened turtle. His shell was a little over 8 inches long. When we moved to Texas I dug out a pond for him in front of my bedroom window so I could listen for predators at night. He had many basking rocks and a terraced section so he could just sit in the water if he wanted. He also had an enclosed, dry land section, but he spent all of his free time sitting on the rocks, sunbathing. His pond had a very deep hole where he could hide if he felt threatened and it was covered by tree branches for extra protection. This was where he slept at night.

My favorite memories of Crush are when I sat beside his pond sipping my tea and he would swim up to the side and stretch his head out to look at me. He seemed to enjoy Texas so much more than Colorado because he spent more time outside. Of course, when there was a tornado warning I would move him inside to his "tornado shelter" fishtank, and that never made him happy!

Crush loved having people talk to him and he would swim nearby and stare up out of the water for as long as his company would stay. He swam near the top of his pond the day he died, and appeared to be fine. He climbed onto his rock and spent most of the day there. Later in the evening, when it was growing dark, I noticed that he was still sitting on his rock. I walked outside and called his name. His head was stretch out and he appeared to be watching the sunset. When I got close, I realized he had died.

Crush is buried near his rock with some food for his journey and a prayer. I will place a cross on his grave today. I can’t help but look for him on his rock whenever I walk by the pond. I have a feeling he’s still sitting there, basking in the sun. I miss him greatly. He was a wonderful friend.

Monday, March 2, 2009

A Sleeping Toad

I was working with my herbs today, transplanting tiny starters of thai and spicy globe basil. As I dug through one of my porch pots, I unearthed a little toad. He was pale and dirty and a little frightened, but when I gave him a new home in a pot that was already prepared with plant installed, he seemed quite happy. I dug him a hole with my finger, placed him inside, covered him with dirt then put a layer of leaves on top.

Toads hibernate by burying themselves beneath the mud or mulch. Their body temperatures drop to a shockingly low rate and their skin seems to lose its color, as well. This particular toad looked pasty gray, though I'm sure it's the same colorful fella who hangs out by my back door in summer. He didn't fight me in any way and I suspect this was because he was so weak from the lower body temperature.

I knew there were toads in my plant pots, but I wasn't expecting to find one in this particular pot because it was up on a shelf. They are remarkable climbers, though. I've found them inside the grip handle on my sliding doors during summer. Now that I keep my work shoes on the back porch, they generally hide out in the toes of my shoes.

The frogs hibernate this way, as well. The Southern Leopard Frogs that live on my front windowsills in warmer weather hibernate beneath the mulch in my side gardens. This makes it very difficult during planting season. I have to work slowly and carefully and often dig with my finger, using a round hand spade only when the dirt won't budge. I've decided this is the safest way to do it--if there was a frog in the dirt, the dirt wouldn't be so difficult to push aside.

I cleaned the frog pond again today. I suspect it will have just enough dead leaves on the bottom to make the frogs happy by the time they come out of hibernation. I will clean out the turtle pond again tomorrow. He, too, likes to hide in the dead leaves in cooler weather, but his water gets too stinky to wait out the winter!