The snakes I found in my garage last week were pretty small. I figured that shoving them out with a shovel (gently, of course) was probably enough to scare them away. By this afternoon, I’d already forgotten about the snakes when I went out in bare feet to throw some bottles into the recycling bin.
That’s when I noticed a snakeskin, several feet long, draped
along the back wall. A larger snake has been using the rough cinderblocks in my
garage to moult.
I can’t blame the snake, really. The back wall of the garage
faces east and absorbs the morning sunlight. It’s probably a lovely place to
shed your skin.
When I went back into the kitchen, I grabbed the nearest
cat, Rogue, and put her out to the garage. She walked lazily around and showed
no interest in the snakeskin.
“Why did you put Rogue in the garage?” With-a-Why asked from
his spot on the couch, where he was doing homework.
“I thought maybe a cat would scare away the snakes,” I said.
“But she doesn’t seem to get it.”
“Well, I didn’t get it,” he said, “so I doubt she did.”
I grabbed another cat, the grey male cat we call Trouble,
and put him in the garage as well. He, too, just walked around lazily and then
asked to come back in.
I guess I could leave the cats out there until they start
peeing on stuff. Then at least the garage would smell like cat.
On second thought, maybe I’ll just wait for the cold
weather, when the snakes are likely to leave on their own.
12 comments:
Its skin looks like a growth chart.
I've got two boys with their collections of rocks, feathers, snail shells, and bird feet who would love to find a snake skin one day. I err on the side of us over here, snakes way over there.
Jennifer: I find snake skins all the time. I usually bring them in and put them on the shelves of my office, along with the rocks, feathers, and shells I've got there. Your kids need to come visit here!
I would love to find a snakeskin someday.
Unfortunately all we've ever found are the snakes. And once it was a copperhead. In the garage.
Oh to live someplace where it got freezing cold and snowed.
(Remind me of that when it's 55 degrees and sunny in January, and you're buried under 5 feet, though.)
Why do the snakes need to leave?
T.
Well, they seem to like going into the cinderblocks that make up a halfwall along the back of the garage, but if they hibernate there, they will all freeze to death. They can't get below the frost line there. And then in the spring, I'll have a garage full of dead snakes.
What I should do, probably, is fish out the snakes now and cover up those tempting cinderblock holes.
Maybe I'll get Little Biker Boy over here to help me with THAT project.
I would have to avoid the garage forever.
Snakes give me the heebie jeebies- you'd never know I grew up in the heart of the Amazon jungle.
BubTar's snake is just about to shed again, but he is MUCH smaller and in a terrarium where he belongs. ;) I'd be much more skeeved out by him if I didn't know where he was lurking!
Ha ha ha, your cats are bums.
I feel like this would be my dogs' reaction if someone broke in and tried to kill us.
Yeah, I'd definitely be calling someone if I found a snake skin several feet long in my garage.
it took me a moment to figure out what that photo was. what you need is to put the cats in the garage when you KNOW the snake is there...
I LOVE FINDING SNAKESKINS!!!!!!! :-D Wooeee, that's good luck!
and you might get some interesting dreams out of it, too!
:-D
Post a Comment