Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Please don’t feed the bears.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Republicans don’t trust women.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

White supremacy is terrorism.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Duck Blogging / Respite Open Thread: Egg-cellent News

Respite Open Thread: Egg-cellent News

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So Penelope Pearl started laying consistently this week. Her endeavors have been adorable. The eggs have ranged from full-sized to fun-sized. I should have added chicken egg for comparison – but the third egg in is about chicken egg-sized.  Duck eggs are much bigger than even extra-large chicken eggs.

duck eggs, tomatoes on counter

You can also see that Mabel and Maddie have been busy, as well (in the bowl). Their eggs are back to being hard-shelled after a few months of soft-shelled eggs. The culprit? Bixby’s dog food. They do love their dog food, so I switched Scout and the ducks back to the old food, while Bixby has to have a beef food because he’s developed a chicken allergy.

Ten days off of dog food and many days of Ducks On Strike and everything went back to normal. Except they still wouldn’t lay eggs consistently, so I relented and give them about 2 cups of Scout’s food to share in the morning. They are eating more laying mix of seeds/scratch but happy to have their dog food back and laying eggs daily.

They are also EXCELLENT bug hunters and I love watching them run around the yard devouring flies, grasshoppers and grubs.

Respite open thread

Reader Interactions

128Comments

  3. 3.

    Chat Noir

    Duck and critter posts are always a welcome respite.

    I like that you provided a caption for the photo. Half the fun of Cole’s posts is seeing what he captions his photos.

  4. 4.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rikyrah:
    If you’re part of the Anatine Right-to-Life movement, you will see that there are eleven unborn ducks in that picture ?

  6. 6.

    A Ghost To Most

    My wingnut sister took it upon herself to release the family DNA to the world, and completely dismisses any concerns others might have.

    Apparently, it verifies my mother’s 40 years of pre-internet geneology work, so what was the point, and what will be the cost?

  7. 7.

    Gravenstone

    The bugs in their diet is supposed to be what gives the yolks such an intense yellow. Same holds for chicken.

  8. 8.

    Henry

    Our local Momma Blacktail deer seems to love Catfood, so who are we to say what wild critters should eat.
    w3ski

  10. 10.

    bemused

    Your duck, doggy family is adorable.

    My husband was wondering what our 6 mo old kitten was so interested in and discovered a little tree frog on our hardwood living room floor. Absolutely no idea how it got in the house except we had a door screen a little pushed open by one of the dogs we didn’t notice right away. He carefully put it outside out of the rain and it was gone not long after.

  11. 11.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @bemused: Screen door ajar is how I ended up with a snake in the laundry room. Scout sniffed that one out. LOL. Best I could do was close the laundry room door and open the back door wide, hoping she’d leave and not invite a bunch of friends in for a party.

  12. 12.

    ruemara

    Settling in for another 6 hours of auditions because I’ve booked nothing in 2 weeks. Thanks for those who confirmed that the mp3s in a google drive were playable. I’ll try to do some more recordings in the evening but bear with me. I put in up to 9 hours a day auditioning, then go workout for a couple of hours. Audiobooks usually are about 800-$2k for even a no name performer to do and just the first essay, intro & side story had me working from 6:45 to 10. I wish I was faster, but if you don’t mind slow progress, I can probably read through all of 1619 in about 2 weeks.

    Also here’s a lovely white python.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    In my blissful ignorance I had hoped/assumed (if I thought about it at all) that Trump’s “Space Force” scheme had died of attrition. But nope! Apparently he and Pence are launching it today. Oh joy.

  18. 18.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I usually ignore my voice mail. So much so that I forgot the password. This morning I managed to dig it out! I hope those people who left messages in May aren’t expecting a call back.

  24. 24.

    Amir Khalid

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    I presume the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers will have full delegations attending the Space Force launch ceremony.

  26. 26.

    patrick II

    @TaMara (HFG):
    An open screen door was how a bear got into a home (& sawit on the news last night). The home owner got into a boxing match with the bear- and has the clawmarks to prove it. The match ended when his wife joined in with a baseball bat.
    The bear ran off.

  28. 28.

    Anonymous At Work

    Any recommendations or advice on using duck eggs over chicken eggs, differences in size aside?

  32. 32.

    patrick II

    @trollhattan:
    Yeah, it was pretty amazing. The guy walked into the kitchen, saw the bear, the bear stood up and gave him a pop to the nose. So he hit the bear back in the nose. They stood there going at it until his wife stepped in with the bat. He has the claw marks and security video of the bear coming in the back door to prove it.

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    I feel sorry for female ducks and chickens. Imagine having to poop out something watermelon-sized every day!

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    Hard to believe we are right up against Labor Day weekend. (With bonus hurricane watch for some.)

    This summer has flown.

  38. 38.

    Raven

    Ugh, our tenant has a pit bull that seems like a sweet pup but I attacked a cow on a farm where the dude is working and they are putting the 3 year old pup down today. I liked the dog but have always worried he was going to go after one of mine or some other dog or kid. I’m trying to be supportive but am somewhat relived that he wont’ be next door anymore.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    Reining in charter schools, California edition.

    California is poised to tighten rules for charter schools as the state sees growing enrollment in communities serving mostly low-income families.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a deal on Wednesday that would overhaul how the state authorizes and judges its charter schools. State lawmakers must still approve it, which appears to be a formality after the Legislature’s top two leaders endorsed it. Charter schools are publicly funded, but they operate by different rules than traditional public schools. Anyone can apply for a charter school, and state law requires school districts to OK them if they meet certain basic requirements.

    The result is charter school enrollment has more than doubled over the last 10 years, according to a legislative analysis of the proposal. Today, California has more than 1,300 charter schools that account for about 10% of the state’s more than 6.2 million public school students, according to the California Department of Education.

    The bill, which would have to pass the state Legislature by Sept. 12, would no longer let the state authorize charter schools. Instead, only school districts and county governments could do that. And it would narrow the appeals process, forcing applicants to focus on the same set of facts as laid out in their original proposal. The bill would also require all new charter school teachers to be credentialed and would give existing teachers five years to do so.

    And the bill would alter the criteria for approving new charter schools to include an assessment of how the school would impact the community. Going forward, schools would be judged not only by test scores, but also things like graduation and suspension rates.

    Can I presume DeVos will sue California over this egregious abuse of gummint power?

    Yesterday was the antivaxxers last gasp opportunity to protest reining in the exemption-for-sale doctors. RFK’s ghoulish namesake son showed up to chirp his opposition.

  45. 45.

    rikyrah

    It’s going to be a Holiday weekend.
    Anyone got any movies at the theater that I should try and see?

    Anything on Amazon Prime, Netflix?

  46. 46.

    Raven

    @Betty Cracker: I just don’t trust those dogs. We’ve talked about it a bit I get the usual pit owner “their not really like that” and then it attacks a cow? We share a fence with them and I’ve always worried he’d come over it.

  47. 47.

    C Stars

    There’s someone in an adjacent neighborhood to us who keeps several ducks, not in a particularly large space. It can get pretty stinky, and the dogs who happen to be walking by always get in loud arguments with the ducks. I was wondering the purpose of these ducks. Lots of folks have chickens, but why ducks in a cramped urban backyard? I’ve tasted duck eggs before and probably wouldn’t again. Seems like they are fun companions though…?

  50. 50.

    trollhattan

    @rikyrah:
    We went through this with Kevin Johnson and his infamous wife first-hand. It’s not pretty. Putting kids in uniforms does not guarantee results.

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rikyrah:

    Movies? I’m seeing Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen! — this month’s TCM Classics screening. It’s a wonderful series (Fathom Events) and has introduced or re-introduced me to some terrific cinema of every genre. Really looking forward to it.

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    @Raven:
    Wife’s favorite cousin had one for about ten years and while he was…friendly I never, as in never ever let him in the same room as my kid without at least a couple adults present.

    They got a second dog and started favoring it, and the pitbull got really jealous and territorial, to the pont they thought they’d have to put him down but then brought in a dog psychologist (right?) who pointed out all the things they were doing wrong, behaviorally. Anyhoo, never trust a dog with a head larger than a basketball.

  53. 53.

    opiejeanne

    @trollhattan: It’s about time California did something about charter schools, but their system was still better than the one rammed through in 2012 in Washington, that was so bad that they were all defunded a couple of years ago. There was no oversight of any sort, budget, teaching credentials, facilities, how much was spent per student, etc. People were getting rich selling the idea that public school funding should be applied to what were essentially private schools. The worst of these were online schools that popped up right after the election in 2012.
    In California the charters don’t take everyone, nor did the ones in Washington, whereas the public schools in both states have to provide for every student no matter how burdensome that is for the districts.

  54. 54.

    opiejeanne

    @rikyrah: The ones in Los Angeles County started during the busing crisis when white families didn’t want their kids bused miles away from the local schools, wanted minorities to shoulder all of the burden. They touted themselves as “back to basics” schools. My kids weren’t bused because their schools were 40% – 60% minority at the time. (We liked it that way)

  59. 59.

    A Ghost To Most

    The bear in the boxing match was caught and killed. The cub has not been located.

  61. 61.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    There’s an inspiring documentary called “The Biggest Little Farm” about a couple building a thriving little farm with a self contained ecosystem. One by one they have pest or imbalance problems and figure out a natural way to combat it.

    As I recall, the ducks came in when there was an infestation of snails attacking the peach trees. They brought up the little guys from the pond and they had a feast. Cleaned up the orchard in no time.

    Then the birds came to eat the fruit but that was another chapter.

  62. 62.

    C Stars

    Off topic, but this is interesting:

    Surge in young Republicans worried about the environment

    “When looking deeper into the data it becomes clear that the highest rise in environmental concern (worldwide) is visible among younger Republicans,” said Glocalities pollster Martijn Lampert, who predicted that shifting views on the environment would influence the next U.S. election in 2020.

    It’s been clear lately that much of this administration’s anti-environment policy is simply unpopular, so much so that even polluting/destructive industries who could stand to benefit are undercutting his dumb/destructive pronouncements.

    I wonder if this will sway any votes.

    In my recent interactions with conservatives in the South and Midwest, I’ve certainly noticed that they are willing to diverge with DT when it comes to his environmental policy/denialism. Along the lines of “DT claims there’s no such thing as climate change, but I can see with my own eyes that things are changing….”

    Could also be that this topic is for some reason the only thing they feel safe publicly criticizing about the GOP stance (gun regulation being the big, ouchy thing that everyone in those areas avoids discussing), or that they would say such things to me (a California Democrat) as a strategy for claiming common ground. Either way, tho…

  63. 63.

    catclub

    @Elizabelle:

    Hard to believe we are right up against Labor Day weekend. (With bonus hurricane watch for some.)

    Katrina landed in MS/LA 14 years ago today.

  64. 64.

    Gin & Tonic

    @SiubhanDuinne: Saw the new Apocalypse Now last night at the theater that does the Fathom events, even though it wasn’t Fathom-sponsored. But priced higher than a regular movie, and only one showing.

  67. 67.

    catclub

    @Elizabelle: The models now show Dorian as a Category 4 before hitting the FL coast. Ouch.

    Although somebody noted it is aiming at Mar-a-grifto

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @Raven:
    Perhaps nothing but yell and throw furniture. I tried to not go there at all, but “family.” He’s gone and she’s growed, but I still get chills thinking about it.

  70. 70.

    Roger Moore

    @opiejeanne:
    There’s a big difference between the charters and the older “back to basics” schools. At least here in Pasadena, the Fundamental Schools (what our district called them) and the Alternative School were still part of the school district. They had different curricula and standards, but they still had (and have) the same oversight from the school board. Charters are exempt from a lot of that stuff, so they’re much less accountable.

  72. 72.

    trollhattan

    @opiejeanne:
    Sacramento’s former mayor, NBA star, accused pedo who started a charter high school here, and his wife, Michelle Rhee, infamous education “reformer” who hates teacher unions and lurves charter schools. A DeVos wannabe.

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    In the midst of all this ed-you-kay-shun chat, today is my kid’s last first day of school. Dad’s a little verklempt.

  77. 77.

    trollhattan

    @Raven:
    Better than the alternative, I guess.

    I’m with you–don’t trust ’em. They’re at least a third, if not half our shelter dogs and I wonder what fraction are never made available for adoption?

  78. 78.

    C Stars

    @trollhattan: I just don’t think these actions are endearing him to his electorate in the way he thinks they are. It’s a weak spot for him in 2020, that’s all, though surely he’ll be getting plentiful donations from those industries. Trying to look at things optimistically here.

  80. 80.

    gene108

    Putting kids in uniforms does not guarantee results.

    A large part of the world has school uniforms. There’s enough data points out there to see, if uniforms have magic powers to improve anything

    Not sure why this revolutionary

  81. 81.

    catclub

    @trollhattan:

    Anyhoo, never trust a dog with a head larger than a basketball.

    There was recently a record sized grapefruit in Louisiana that was about the size of a basketball.

  82. 82.

    Barbara

    @catclub:

    The models now show Dorian as a Category 4 before hitting the FL coast. Ouch.

    Just saw this as well. Currently, the impact point is well north of Palm Beach, in Central Florida. So maybe not the most populated areas, but it’s just preliminary for now.

  86. 86.

    rikyrah

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    One of the longest Saturdays during college was when I and a few friends decided that we’d do the double header of Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago….it was a long day..LOL

  87. 87.

    rikyrah

    @opiejeanne:

    @trollhattan: I’m sorry, but who are Kevin Johnson and his infamous wife?

    Johnson is a former basketball pro turned Mayor and Michelle Rhee -educational con woman – is his wife.

  88. 88.

    gwangung

    @ruemara: Thank you!

    It’s only for those who like kickass women of color…based on a true story of a woman who commanded 10,000 ships…..(and where white people show up mostly as cannon fodder)…..

  89. 89.

    Barbara

    @Raven: In Florida, generally, yes, but the Atlantic Coast north of Palm Beach has fewer people than Miami Dade. Based on the map, it likes it would go ashore somewhere between Port St. Lucie and Daytona Beach, maybe Melbourne.

  90. 90.

    trollhattan

    @rikyrah:
    That’s commitment.

    Perhaps my favorite double-bill was when we rented “Gandhi” and John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” Because “Gandhi” came on two reels (i.e., VHS tapes) we watched the first half, then “The Thing” then the second half. Perfect.

  95. 95.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Raven: It’s called “Final Cut.” Since Coppola is 80 years old, I think that’s likely true. Longer than the first one, shorter than “Redux”.

  97. 97.

    Tenar Arha

    @rikyrah: I’d say try to see The Farewell, that’s my favorite of all the recent movies I’ve seen. And if you’re worried it’s too much of a downer, I can assure you it’s not. However if you like Springsteen, & want a good example of folding in music into a movie Blinded By The Light was really fun coming of age movie.

  98. 98.

    trollhattan

    Didn’t know they were playing but sounds like a wild match–anybody watching England v. Belgium? 3-3 in the 84th minute and England was once ahead 2-0.

    p.s. Women’s futbol.

  99. 99.

    Sab

    @raven: Our previous neighbors, when it was a rental, did pit bull rescue and they were always escaping.

    One time they all got loose and I grabbed one of the girl dogs by the collar. Across the street neighbor ( pitbull owner also) came over to help and had to be warned that that particular dog hated and feared men.

    Another time they escaped and I had to help catch them because owners were on their way to the ER to get stitched up after intervening in a dogfight over toys.

    It was real relief when they moved on and the landlord rented to a pack of young men in their twenties.

    Now we have an actual homeowner next door with the world’s most timid border collie.

    I always liked the pits, but what kind of idiot dog bites its own loving owner?

  100. 100.

    Miss Bianca

    @gwangung: Ooh, congratulations – sounds like fun!

    Wish my own community weren’t so dang white – seems like the most exciting new plays coming out are featuring POC.

    ETA: And therefore I can’t cast them. *pout*

  101. 101.

    TenguPhule

    EPA loosens rules on methane, a key greenhouse gas

    The proposed rule will reverse Obama-era standards that require oil and gas operations to install controls on their operations to curb the release of methane.

    WASF.

  102. 102.

    TenguPhule

    Authorities say a surfer at a Florida beach caught air on a wave and landed on a shark that, in turn, bit him on the hand and calf.

    Donald Walsh tells The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he had been surfing at New Smyrna Beach for several hours Tuesday when he decided to try going airborne before leaving for the day.

    Ocean Rescue Capt Tamra Malphurs says that’s when Walsh, of Mims, landed on the 6.5ft shark in waist-deep water and suffered lacerations that weren’t considered life-threatening.

    The 40-year-old Walsh says he didn’t see the shark below him as he landed in the water, but the shark’s bite brought it into focus. Walsh says he’ll be back in the water as soon as his wounds heal a bit.

    Florida Man Jumps on the Shark.

  104. 104.

    catclub

    @TenguPhule: and if the Gas Companies are talking to Democratic politicians, they should be telling the companies that the rules will come back after Trump is gone, so might as well adjust once rather than twice. This is basically what the Gas companies already know.

  107. 107.

    trollhattan

    @TenguPhule:
    Closing grafs from a summary of Zinke’s tenure at Interior.

    In the end, Zinke will probably be remembered more for his hat collection, bluster, multiple scandals and ethics investigations and vacations taken on the taxpayer dime than for any policies he implemented, good or bad. One thing is certain, though: The drive for “energy dominance” at the expense of the environment will endure for as long as Trump remains president, particularly under the leadership of now acting-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who is generally seen to be more competent than Zinke.

    “In some sense, Ryan Zinke really was Trump’s mini-me in terms of flailing around and fumbling very loudly, but really not having a clear policy direction other than deregulation and handing over federal authority to manage public lands,” said Erik Molvar, the executive director of Western Watersheds, a conservation group that opposes grazing and energy development on public land. “Now, we could be turning over the helm to cold-blooded professionals who are industry lobbyists that really know how to get things done.”

  108. 108.

    Jay

    "One young woman told lawyers from Washington state, that menstruating youngsters were permitted only one tampon, or sanitary pad, a day. After that, at least one girl “had no choice but to continue to wear her soiled underwear” and clothes." https://t.co/tiStC21czd— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) August 28, 2019

  110. 110.

    The Moar You Know

    I always liked the pits, but what kind of idiot dog bites its own loving owner?

    @Sab: I would like to say “abused dogs”, but it is not that simple. It is usually a dog that is wired wrong, and that has everything to do with their first weeks in life. Or it can simply be a dog in a dogfight. They’ll bite anything if they’re in a real fight.

    One of the greatest heartbreaks of my life was having to take a puppy – a fucking puppy, I doubt he was three months old – back to the shelter. He was some sort of beagle mix and he’d been weaned too early and already had a really bad case of food aggression, worst I’ve ever seen. Once he got over his giardia (contracted at the shelter) he started biting both my wife and I. The end came when I was sitting with him on our front lawn, checking out the neighborhood, and he just very calmly and slowly moved his head over, like he was going to ask for skitches, and bit my arm. HARD. That one I had to go to the doctor for.

    Now, I felt pretty confident that we could train him out of that as regards my wife and I. We’re experienced with dogs and the art of raising them. What I did not feel confident about at all was our ability to keep the neighbor kids and the other dogs safe around him. He wasn’t a big dog but they don’t have to be to really hurt someone.

    We took him back. I imagine I’ll remember that last look he gave us as I lay dying someday, and that will be my own literal hell. He just thought he was going off somewhere for a minute and he’d see us in a few and go back home. I seriously will feel guilty about that for the rest of my life. I do know he wasn’t put down and ended up living in a nice neighborhood about twenty miles from us. That in no way mitigates the guilt. I don’t see even now know what else we could have done but I feel very strongly that we abandoned him and that’s just not something you can do to a dog.

    Anyhow, dogs can and will bite their owners for all kinds of reasons and it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad dog, or a stupid dog, or even that there was something wrong in how they were raised. I have been told over and over again by trainers and owners that if you intervene in a dogfight, you’re going to get bitten, and there’s a pretty good chance it will be by your own dog. If it’s a real fight, they’re in a panic, fight/flight/kill mode, and that’s hardwired in for their survival. They’re going to bite anything they can to get away, or deal with the threat…anything to be safe.

  112. 112.

    rikyrah

    This thread never fails to crack me up, even two years later. I love this Twitter thread ???

    This is the most hilarious Michael Jackson Birthday tweet ever. #KingOfPop
    https://t.co/6OBaKBILoa

    — The Opaque Crystal (@ElemScott) August 29, 2019

  113. 113.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    In other news DH is at the airport in a motel, ready to board his flight tomorrow to the UK. He will get here Saturday morning. Mum, Norman and I are heading to the airport tomorrow to stay in a hotel overnight to pick him up on Saturday. Our long nightmare is over.

  114. 114.

    Aleta

    @ruemara: Brava for courageous act.

    I listened to the audio sample too. Your voice and delivery are singularly beautiful. + Bring an exact impact and emotion to the text, imo (how you achieved that I have no idea but much respect).

  120. 120.

    Jay

    @The Moar You Know:

    Never met a Pittie or Pittie X that wasn’t a lover, but they are a family dog, not a yard dog*, and being strong willed and strong, they need an owner who “gets them”.

    But then, I’m the guy who saw a young girl hauling two Canine Corso’s in an economy car to Calgary, at a gas station, and just had to meet the big slobber buckets.

    P.S. leaving a dog tied up outside or kenneled is animal cruelty. Dogs are social pack animals and belong with their pack, ( family).

  122. 122.

    Jay

    Despite the tropical storm, workers at the Cadillac Uniform company in Bayamon Puerto Rico remain on strike to demand better wages. They were met with pepper spray by police today. Many have gone 15 years without seeing an increase to their $7.25/hour pay. #Solidarity https://t.co/kGvbWmnfzn— Yarimar Bonilla ??‍? (@yarimarbonilla) August 29, 2019

  124. 124.

    opiejeanne

    @Roger Moore: Thanks. The Basics schools, I thought they called themselves charters way back when. Now charters are something entirely different. Like I said, they were so toxic in Washington that they removed all funding for them. The charter school people here, abominable people, tried emotional pleas in advertisements, showing kids asking that their school not be defunded. That lasted about two years.
    Washington seems to have a large supply of obnoxious wealthy people looking to increase their wealth by diverting it from public funds, moneys intended to be used for the public good.

  125. 125.

    J R in WV

    @Gravenstone:

    The bugs in their diet is supposed to be what gives the yolks such an intense yellow. Same holds for chicken.

    Yes, that and the extra sunshine they get outdoors. Plus the terror of fleeing from everything around, cats, dogs, hawks, people… ;-) I kid a little, but you can’t get too close to free range chickens or they flutter away.

  126. 126.

    J R in WV

    @TaMara (HFG):

    How I ended up with a snake in the laundry room….

    Some years ago we had gone to bed, early on a summer eve. Reading in bed, as we do… I noticed one of the cats, staring fixedly at the underneath of a bedside chair. When I looked, there was a small grass snake, like a brown garter snake, coiled up staring back at the big cat!

    I put on a glove, and snatched up the snake, whom I dropped off the back porch into the leaves on the forest floor, which surrounds the house.

    Some time after that, a friend was installing a new water heater. He called me down stairs, and told me to climb the ladder to look where he was installing the combustion vent to outdoors. “Look to your left! Now up a little bit!” There was a 62 inch long shed snake skin up on top of an A/C duct!

    We had a resident black snake in the walls and basement. This was probably 12 or 15 years ago, and I suspect he bailed at some point. We believe the snake came in during construction of one flavor or another, and was content with what they found.

    We have a very low rate of bugs and rodents, partly from cats, and perhaps also from predatory non-poisonous reptiles. Black snakes are a good thing, as they out compete copperheads ( our most common poisonous snake locally), and even in fact prey upon them. So good to have around a rural property!

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