Asheville
37°
Livonia
34°
Bloomfield
32°
These are Carrie’s photos, taken at Possum Manor West. They have snakes. Ick. I guess we have snakes too, but I have only seen that baby black snake that was in my living room. Wait until you see these! Ann says it is good to have black snakes because they keep away the poisonous ones. I say no snake can be a good snake.
This was in the utility room off the carport.
Look at the size of that bugger!
This one was on the front porch,
This is Carrie’s cat, Nooska, who is a fearless snake hunter. You can see the snake under the chair,
These snakes ate the baby chicks. They cannot eat the grown chickens, but they made a meal out of the babies.
I have no idea what kind of flower this is, but is sure is unique!
Just sunflowers you say? Well that fence at the bottom of the picture is three foot high chicken wire. They are HUGE!!!!
Now the next two photos are blurry, but I want to put them up anyway. Does anyone know what kind of a butterfly this is? The first is the underneath, the second is the top.
Anyone know?
I don’t know about the butterfly, but that is Passion Flower!!! And It puts out yummy Passion fruit!!!
i tried to look up the butterflies- personally i think it is a job for Super Becky. I recognized the snakes, though. Blacksnakes are relatively harmless, although they CAN bite. And even though they’re technically constrictors they aren’t big enough to constrict a person- or a grown up chicken. They pretty much live on birds, eggs (which they swallow whole) and little mammals. yours ( I THINK) are black rat snakes, which pretty much tells you their food of choice.
Ann is right, they do control a lot of things- and they wouldn’t be dangerous except to baby chickens- but if you want to relocate them you can pick them up, toss them into a paper bag and take them somewhere else. Yeah, i know, i can see you picking one up.
Hope the snakes did not eat the baby chicks you just delivered. Will they bite the cat?
Not my baby chicks, but Carrie’s. I don’t think a snake could find a way into my coop. At least I hope not.
Pam, there is no way I would touch a snake. I once covered one with dirty laundry, but that was last summer. I am getting better at removing disemboweled animals, but not touching a snake. I just do not like the way they move. They cannot be trusted.
Carrie’s cat picks them up, but I think he knows not to mess with deadly ones.
blacksnakes COULD bite the cat but they’re not vipers- they do not have fangs or poison- their teeth actually slant like backwards-like into their mouths- which kind of means the damage from the bite happens when either you pull something away from their mouths or they pull away from what they’re biting. and they do not have huge teeth. If, like a pretty big boa constrictor bit you you’d end up with something that looks like road rash.Their teeth are made to help pull food into the mouth- not as a weapon. Overall their best defense is speed. It’s kind of cool to see blacksnakes eat, though- they have a disarticulating jaw like a boa- so they can swallow pretty big things whole.
the funniest thing, though- is snake poop. It actually looks like little, very dry dog crap. I KNOW you all wanted to know that.
That purple flower is beautiful. It almost looks as though the center was embroidered…first with 5 points like a star and then 3 points in the other color.
Wow those sunflowers are so high when they open the birds are sure to get to them before you can put netting over them. I love them…they always look so happy with their big faces pointed to the sun.
Snakes are neat! Never understood why anyone would be so fearful of them. They feel so cool sliding through your hands, wrapping their tails around your wrist, with their little tongues darting in and out of their mouths. It is such a tactile experience to hold one. They are truly one of nature’s amazing creatures.
I had never before in my life thought of snakes pooping. I guess they do, but I never thought of it. lol
Okie Dokie…That beautiful butterfly!!! The best my researching can accomplish is:
The female of Speyeria diana or a Frittering Diana or just plain ole Diana
I looked and looked and I have found that not all butterflies of the same species actually look exactly alike or are even the same color!! So…this is the best I can come up with!
First of all I would never be able to live at Possum Manor West because I have a horrible fear of them. Secondly, I LOVE the pictures you took. That purple flower is gorgeous and last but not least I LOVE the fact that their is a butterly I am named after. : )
P.S. forgot to mention how hysterical I was over snake poop. lol