M - More snakeness and other wildlife

Noah and I ran across this not-so-little black rat snake last Saturday as it rested coiled up in a tree about 3 feet above Noah's head. I saw the snake as I was trying not to run Noah into a big spider web under the tree. As the front seat passenger, he often gets the brunt of the webs. It'll be even better as he gets taller and gets all of them for me!! It sure is funny to watch him get the body shivers when he hits one. He's a tough little dude though and is pretty accustomed to all manner of outdoor non-niceties. I really regretted, as I usually do, not having my real camera with me. We went back to the house to grab it and by the time we got back the snake had started his climb further up the tree. Some of this MIGHT have to do with the poke or two I gave him with my fishing pole. I was almost certain it was a water moccasin, which would be quite poisonous, but alas it was only a harmless rat snake. Rat snakes can grow quite large as adults are usually 3-6 feet. They also love trees and eaves of houses because it's close to other fare they enjoy...birds and eggs. This also brings them into many attics much to the chagrin of many homeowners.

I had to get up in the tree to get these next pictures but it was a real treat to watch him work his way through the branches. VERY impressive indeed. Nature is the perfect reminder of God's intelligent design and I consider it a privilege anytime I have a chance to interact with it first hand. Noah was a good boy and kept reminding me that it was not necessarily a good idea to be in a tree with a snake.

Due to a heavy rain in the prior two days, the water was still a bit murky and the fishing wasn't great. So we decided to set up a trot line for the first time this year. Our limb lines haven't really been producing much for us so we thought we'd go back to our old faithful technique. We baited it up with perch and earthworms and sure enough, Sunday morning we went out before church and found that we had caught a 2-pound mudcat (or yellow catfish). It was a nice one and we are always fairly thankful anytime we don't pull up a big snapping turtle. Catching a big turtle was fun at first but it just ain't easy to part the head from a big snapping turtle! And there's almost no way to rescue a nice stainless steel 4/0 hook from the throat of a big hard-shell beast. Not to mention, those dudes can be dangerous and as it turns out, I'm quite fond of the digits God gave me!! I'm not the least bit interested in losing any part of one to a turtle! We filleted the catfish right there on the boat and put the meat up in the freezer for later enjoyment.

We also came across a late-morning muskrat and followed him down the creek for a ways before he ducked under the moss and disappeared. View the picture at full zoom for more detail.

For years we have been observing the beavers in our pond. As noted before, we will co-exist peacefully until they start munching on the big trees. So far they have been very cooperative. We've seen as many as five beaver at one time swimming around at night. Nonetheless, last Saturday marked the second confirmed round of beaver babies which worries me a little. Once baby beaver get a little older, mom and dad kick them out of the house and they are left to find or build their own housing. Thus we've confirmed at least two other locations where they've taken up residence. I know it can't last because they won't always be so cooperative but for now it is still fun to watch and observe and occasionally interact (they've been known to swim into the side of the boat with a spotlight in their eyes at night!).