Walkies

On our morning walk, Gracie killed a water snake. It was the kind with the orange underside. A lot of people around here kill them, thinking they are "copper-bellied moccasins". Sorry, there's no such creature. We do have Cottonmouth moccasins and they are poisonous, but they do not have an orange belly. Poor snakes. Gracie was so proud of herself. She carried it all the way home, dangling from her mouth, sometimes tripping over it (about 2 1/2 feet long). When I first saw it, I was looking to make sure it wasn't poisonous and Gracie decided to share the goodness by slinging snake goo in my face. Yummy! No bacteria there, right? I really do regret the death of this snake, but I have no way to stop my dogs from following their instincts. Gracie is a natural hunter and snakes seem to be her preferred prey.


On a happier note: I saw a deer. Gracie was exploring in the bushes and when I turned to call her, a deer was standing in the road watching me. This is a field road--no traffic at all. We stared at each other for a moment or so and then the deer ran across the field and stopped to watch me again. I called Gracie and the deer kept looking. When Gracie burst out of the hedgerow, the deer bounded away. Gracie and Stormy never saw her. The only danger would be if Gracie were to run after the deer. The deer would be fine, but G. would probably die of heat exhaustion from running so hard. She absolutely would not be able to catch the deer.

We also heard, but did not see a Pileated woodpecker.

An eventful walk, fun for all (except for the snake), but Gracie was mildly disappointed when she was not allowed to bring her trophy into the house. Perhaps, Stormy was disappointed that he didn't find a turtle to carry.

Eddie just brought a  young white oak snake inside. Absolutely beautiful. Don't worry, it's going back out where it will grow up to feast on birds, mice, and other critters. Sorry, songbirds, snakes gotta eat, too.

Another day in the life,
Serena