Sunday, July 26, 2009

Low-Down Dirty Snake in the Grass

Or:  Why We Have Snakes in Our Yard

According to what I've learned in the last two weeks (since our Mickey snakebite trauma), there are two main reasons we have snakes here at Chez Wood.

Reason 1:  Plethora of chipmunks

Reason 2:  Plethora of drainpipes


This little guy in munching on a fallen tomato in the backyard.
I didn't know chipmunks liked tomatoes.
But they obviously do.  And apparently, many snakes like chipmunks.  And chipmunks like to hide in drainpipes.  The solution?  There are vented caps available which fit on the end of the black drain pipes, keeping chipmunks out, but allowing water to flow through.  Hubby will go to the hardware store soon and cap off all the drainpipes.

We're hoping the chipmunks will then find another yard in which to hide, and then the snakes will follow.  It's certainly not a foolproof solution, but maybe it will help a bit.  Meanwhile, Mickey seems to be totally back to normal.  He eats well, drinks well, and is perky again.  Yesterday he accompanied us to move Daughter 2 home from college.  Tomorrow we move Daughter 1 home from college.  In two weeks we move them both back again.  Lots of MOVING going on around here!

But I've had a bit time to sew, too.  I'm still working on my Little Bouquet quilt.  Plus I've been playing with some yo-yo's.  Don't you just LOVE yo-yo's?


3 comments:

Lisa A said...

Squirrels like tomatoes, too, I have discovered.

Susan @ Blackberry Creek said...

Oh no! We have scads of chipmunks and Sophie loves to chase them.

YankeeQuilter said...

So glad to hear Mickey is doing better. My scottie was swiped by a rattler a few years ago and went through a similar episode (tough it wasn't a deep bite so not as serious.) We cleared the rockpile in our yard and moved the log pile onto the wooded side of the fence.