Goodness Gracious Snakes Alive!

 Good Morning Friends,

You all know where this post is going just from the title!  Yikes!!

Friday was a gorgeous day.  One of my conference calls had been cancelled and I really was finished work by lunch time.  After lunch I ventured out in search of some new bras.  That's a whole other story that I won't go into, but what a PITA!  I came home and found Fletch raking out the dead stuff from the flower bed alongside the driveway.  Mabel was nosing around the patio - supposedly finding another vole or mouse.  I went inside to put some things away and when I next looked out, Mabel was batting at a snake on the patio.  It was a garter snake, but that doesn't matter.  A snake is a snake and one does NOT belong on my patio!  I yelled for Fletch who ignored me and then the snake crawled away between the trash can and a yard waste bag.  My guess is that Fletch disturbed it when he was raking out the driveway bed.

Saturday was a gorgeous day.  Rain had been in the forecast, but that didn't happen till the evening.  Dee and I met up for some much needed (on my part, anyway) girl time - sipping coffee, chatting and doing a little knitting.  After coming home, I sat on the patio a bit listening to birds.  I went back inside to do something and the next thing I know Fletch is walking across the backyard and going down the trail into our woods.  I can see him go partway down the trail until it became too muddy to walk and I see him toss something into the woods.  You guessed it - a snake!  And, it had been right underneath the chair I sit in!  30 minutes or so later, we are ready to sit outside with our beverages before dinner and Fletch finds ANOTHER snake on the patio.  You just know there have to be more.  And I am not amused or happy.

The nature stories don't end there.  Sunday morning I was fixing breakfast for us (bacon, sausage, fried eggs and toast) and I noticed some grease from cooking the sausage had splattered out of the pan.  I wipe it up and discover a deer tick on the cloth I used to wipe.  Yup - a deer tick on my stove!  I've been itching and scratching ever since.  I'm sure it's one that Mabel brought in.  We have treated her with flea & tick medication, but I have found over the years that ticks still get on the animals...they just don't burrow down and dig in and bite.  I have a feeling it's going to be a long season!

So that was my weekend!  How was yours?  

Last night I re-discovered a gift someone had sent me at Christmas.

A nesting globe filled with alpaca fiber!  We will be hanging this soon - probably somewhere in the apple tree where we can see what's happening.  Birds are definitely singing their spring mating songs, so it won't be long till they are building nests and getting ready to raise their chicks.

I wasn't sure last night about going to the office, but I think I will do that today.  I have some things to ship to my brother Ray and my SIL in Delaware.  I also need to stop at CVS and a grocery store to pick up some cat food (Mabel is consuming food like there is no tomorrow!).  I should be able to get in and out quickly at the office and then be on my way for various errands.

Let's all have a great start to the week (with no signs of more snakes).