Report from the Yard

Mrs Vache Folle and I had some encounters with wildlife over the Labor Day weekend. Mrs VF was late getting out to retrieve the woodpecker cake (we had rented “V for Vendetta” and didn’t want to interrupt it) and came face to face with her nemesis (with respect to the woodpecker cake) the fat raccoon. He was balanced on the fence and reaching for the prize when Mrs VF and Jesse the Ruthenian Shepherd showed up.

On Sunday, we noticed four adult water snakes and one juvenile basking on the rocks by the pond. I knew we had two adults (Brad and Janet) and two juveniles (Suri and Shiloh), but it now appears we have at least six water snakes. We don’t know the names of the newly found adults. I crossed paths with one of the bigger snakes and experienced it slithering over my ankle. Although I know they harmless, I nonetheless screamed a cowardly scream and had to idle for several minutes to let the adrenaline rush pass.

Jasper the terrier took a break from tormenting the frogs long enough to let the pond water clear up. It turns out that the shiners we put in the pond back in the springtime reproduced, and there are at least a hundred of them. They are the same color as the silt on the bottom, so we usually can’t see them. Of 100 comets, only about 25 remain, but they have grown to about six inches in length. I hope that any of the fish survive the winter. If not, I’ll restock as they are only a dime apiece.

Frogs are less abundant than in years past, and I reckon the snakes are partly responsible. Jasper doesn’t make life any easier for them, either.