Yesterday I was out blocking the gaps between the floor of the storage building and the ground so I could extend the duck yard all the way to the shed. As I was pulling some weeds out of the way I spied a green and yellow vertically striped ribbon that I had not put in the back yard. A quick ID on my part told me it was your basic ribbon snake, a non venomous member of the garter snake family.
Needless to say, I snatched him up in a heartbeat. He did bite me a few times to no avail with his tiny teeth and gave me his secondary defense of a mix of musk and fecal matter, again to no avail.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a ribbon snake in the wild so he's doubtless the first seen in my new locale. I fetched up a 2 gallon or so plastic jar, poked a few holes in the lid and brought him into the house. I brought him in for the following reasons...
1 My next door neighbor on the North side seems rather "citified" as she don't eat home grown tomatoes nor duck eggs, both of which I've offered when I had in plenty. She rather chapped my butt recently when as she mowed her yard she mowed over the tomato plants on our border. I'm sure she's have killed the little fella.
2 Bella, my dachshund will kill anything that don't kill her first.
3 Typical Mississippi residents will kill any snake they see.
4 Members of the garter snake family often form what I refer to as "breeding tangles" wherein from a couple to a multitude gather to breed. I simply want to hold this member for a while so should I encounter another I'll be certain I'm not seeing one snake a dozen times.
Well, I'm going to finish closing the gaps so I can give the ducks a bit more room.
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