Two Snakes; Baby Birds

 Had a FaceBook memory from six years ago pop up on Monday.  Bob had come up to me and said "look what I found."  I looked the limp lifeless little body in his hand and said "oh, a dead snake.  How sad."  He replied "I don't think it's dead."  Bob, the eternally hopeful.  So he put it in a box.  And, sure enough, it came back to life.  It was a little hognose snake.  They are drama queens - at the first sight of danger, they roll over and play dead.

And yes, we released him.  It's all cute, but it also knocked the wind out of me when I first played it.  Something that only I would notice.  A few indistinct words (for the record, it's "You wiggle it?")  Bob's voice.  I kept playing it over and over.  Three words, but I clung to them.  I miss that voice.

A couple of weeks ago I posted that Carolina wrens had built a nest in Bob's gardening hat that I still had hanging up where he left it.

The miracle happened yesterday.  I couldn't get a good count of them; I just leaned in for a quick snap while the mother was off the nest, but I think there's at least four, and maybe all five.  At this state, any movement at all will result in gaping beaks.  The parents are going to be busy for awhile bringing in bugs for those bottomless appetites.

I spotted another snake today, an example at being at the right place at exactly the right time.  It was at the museum.  My co-worker Serai and I had split up - she was cleaning the sheep pen while I was at the chickens.  But I spotted a snake in the nest box and hollered at her to come over - because he had found an egg.  I am always shocked at how stretchy snakes can be.  At one point he raised his head; I picture him saying "Do you mind?  I am trying to eat."

We watched as we could see the ripples of muscle moved the egg down his body.  At one point I even heard the faint crunch as the egg finally broke.

What I really enjoyed was having someone that I could call to come watch with me, someone going "Ohmygod I've never seen anything like that."  Sharing the moment.  It was fun.  (And I admit that most people would have been grossed out by this, or even freaked at the sight of the snake)

It's a good start to April.