Snakes, Pets and Gardening!
I have come to find out that my yard is home to many small Northern Brown Snakes. Thus far I have identified 4 unique snakes living around my property. It likely helps that I tend to keep the back yard a bit more wild and natural around the edges. At first I wasn't quite sure what kind of snake it was. Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, I didn't see much wildlife at all. We had tons of Squirrels and Raccoons, but not much else.
I have considered capturing one of the larger snakes in my yard, and bringing it inside as a pet, along side my Leapord Gecko. Ah yes, I may not have mentioned my Leapord Gecko before. He was a donation of sorts, given to us by one of my wifes co-workers. We have been taking care of it for about a year now. It seems like in a way, we have turned into a bit of a rescue household. The kitty was a rescue; We kind of stole her from the lady down the street who has many cats. Our cat is declawed, and was always nervous about all the other cats. It had snuck inside out previously cat-free house on several occasions before we finally took it in officially. The lady who owned it was supportive of this as I believe she also saw the issue with this being the only declawed cat she owned.
Of course we have our parrots as well. Paddy and Pepper. Paddy is a Male Turquoise Green Cheek Conure, and Pepper is a Female Pineapple Green Cheek Conure. In typical conure style they are very bitey and curious. Paddy is a bit jealous of me from time to time. Tho when he was small, he used to cuddle with me often. Paddy does speak a little bit. He also laughs in a cute cackle when he finds something funny.
Should I capture and keep a snake as a pet? Hmmm... I am sure it does its job nicely outside. But sadly I have almost hit a few of them with the lawnmower a few times. It would be nice to have a breeding pair in captivity, and release the young perhaps. I am still contemplating this option.
Anyhow, another thing keeping me busy this summer is my new garden. I decided to try actually growing some 'fruits' this year - as opposed to just growing flowers. I say fruits because technically peppers, and corn and tomatoes are fruits. Vegetables are generally considered to be part of the root systems, stem, or leaf. Fruits are part of the reproductive process for the plant. Since peppers, tomatoes and corn all contain seeds, they are all fruits.
This is a photo from when I first planted everything. It has grown quite a bit since then. However, sadly one of the tomato plants and the cucumber plant didn't make it through one of the late frosts. I planted more corn in its place which is growing quickly.