Here it is the Fall of the year.  The birds are calming down a bit......almost.  Their new feathers are growing in and tempers are mellowing, slowly.

It has been a very hot, dry, drought of a spring and summer here in Texas, again.  Due to this drought, I had more encounters with snakes than I care to see in a life time.  My most memorable encounter to date is the copper head snake determined to make one of the humming bird feeders its home.  I will share two pictures of two different days of this snake visit.

The first day, I was going out on the deck to fetch the feeders to clean and refill......I stopped suddenly when I saw this snake coiled around the base of the feeder.  A humming bird was approaching the feeder at the same time.  The bird slowed down, I shewed it away.  I took my phone out and took this picture.  Look closely you will see the snake coiled along the base, with its head facing out in the direction of the birds.  You can also see another predator of the humming bird toward the top of the feeder, a praying mantis.  Normally I would shoot the snake to bits, but our visiting Canadian geese were in the line of sight....I took the broom handle to the snake and it jumped off into the boxwood hedge below......

Needless to say, I check the feeders carefully before taking them down to refill.  The next morning, sure enough, there was that dog gone snake again!!!  This time I caught it before it had a chance to settle in.  It is still slithering down to the feeder.  I took the picture, then grabbed a putter I had next to the door and gave it a good putt and again into the boxwood hedge it went......

Next morning, no snake....good.  However, the following day, that dog gone snake was back on the feeder!  No picture this time, I took the putter and beat on the snake and feeder.......to this day the snake has not returned to any of the three humming bird feeders.

Of course, we also have to contend with snakes in the bird's coop. I have been startled more than once by the poaching Chicken/Rat snakes in the birds nest....I keep a sharp hoe in the coop for just these occasions.

One evening I was very late getting the veggie garden and flower planters watered....the sun was down, it was that time of day when the light is almost gone and stars are just beginning to show. I was just finishing up by putting out cat food and wild bird seed for our night visiting critters, skunks, possums and rabbits.  I was walking back the same path I went out, keeping a close watch with every step.  I was stopped mid stride with my foot in the air when the thought occurred to me,  that wasn't there before.........it moved, IT WAS A SNAKE, I was about to step on!!! It took off and I ran into the house. Since water is scarce this summer the snakes have been around the house more, especially after I water plants.....

I always wondered what the statement "snake in the grass" meant. I found out. The grass area around the ducks and chicken coop is lush, thick, green grass. Only because we pump the pools of duck poo water onto the lawn. It is a wonderful natural fertilizer for the grass.  One evening before letting the birds run around before bed time, I brought out some chopped up tomatoes for them to find in the grass. Tomatoes are a real treat for them.  I was throwing these chopped tomatoes here and there, la, la, la, la.....Suddenly, there was this big black chicken snake that came up out of the grass!!!!  I had hit it with some chopped tomato and brought it out of the thick, lush grass!!  There I stood only armed with tomatoes in my hand watching this snake slithering an exit away from me. It stopped by the kiddie pool gave me one last look then vanished.  Now I understand the meaning of "snake in the grass."  After that we mowed the grass down to the nub...

We look forward to the cold nights of fall and winter, only because we know the snakes will be in their Winter slumber underground. I hope this will be the last of the snake stories for me to share with you.......