Snakes, bird seed and birthday cake(s)

A friend who lives nearby owns a used car dealership in Reedsburg, and he came by this morning to have Tom do some graphic design work for him. The minute he came in the door, he asked, "What kind of snakes do we have around here?"

This is not a question to send calm coursing through the veins of the hearer. Tom has no love of snakes, as I have mentioned before, and although growing up in Texas makes me more accustomed to them, I would be happy to get along without one in the yard. My first thought was that he had seen one in the flower bed out front or among the rocks that line the sidewalk. That seems to be where the cats found the ones they brought in last summer.

It turns out, however, that he had raked one up this morning working in his own yard. While he and Tom worked on the flyer design, I went online and found a Wisconsin DNR site with pictures of the 21 types of snakes in the state, only two of which are venomous.

I know we usually say poisonous, but a poisonous snake would be one that would poison you if you ate it. A snake that injects venom into you is venomous. See why you read this blog? It is so educational!

Anyway, neither the Timber Rattlesnake nor the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake are found in our area. The Massasauga, in fact, is the most endagered reptile in the state. What Mike had found was an Eastern Plains Gartersnake (above), whose status is listed as "Locally common."

Well, duh.

On a brighter note, soon after Mike took off, I saw an indigo bunting out by the feeder. Helen called -- today is her birthday. Mike (that other Mike) celebrates his on May 30. So that's a whole crowd of May babies (now in their 50s).