A Snake in the rocks

As I've noted (and you are probably tired of hearing!) I get to work form home. And sitting at my desk I look out over the Fish Pond. And see things. Like this Eastern Garter Snake:

For a moment I though it was a leaf from one of the cattails. 

But soon enough I was out on the deck with a camera.

And I watched as it slithered down between these two stones.

I see you!

But not before I got a few headshots.

Around the Yard

Working from home, which I will be doing until at least next September, I spend quite a bit of time in the yard. Breaks that used to take place in the office lunch room or wandering outside the office building now occur in the yard.

And that's a good thing.

Here's some of what I've been seeing ...

Not a tiny pinecone, but Frass. I've been seeing Frass all about the yard, but I've not been able to find the producers. But it is good to know the caterpillars are there.

I am still seeing caterpillars. This Smartweed Caterpillar is still munching away on the pond reeds.

And Yellow bear Caterpillars ...

... are all over the yard.

Other critters visiting ...

A rather devilish looking White-tailed Deer in the not yet deer fenced area of the yard. Look how skinny it is. It is really quite sad. New Jersey has a deer density that is often greater than 100 deer per square mile. The overpopulation is not good for the deer or the other critters that share the forest. A healthy population, not just for deer but for the entire ecosystem, is one tenth that number (references here and here).

Another Northern Short-tailed Shrew. And another dead shrew. This one likely met its fate at the paws of Max. This is not a good thing. 

Snakes have been slithering about the yard.

This Eastern Garter Snake lives just outside the garage in the back garden.

This snake skin was next to the bench in the Bench Garden.

And I think this tail is that of a Black Racer, which was hanging out by the Fish Pond for several days.

I'll end this episode with one of my favorite yard flowers ...

... Indian Pipe, which is popping up in the woods behind the "Hermitage".

We are very lucky to have such a wonderful property.

Not Just Birds ...

Other critters enjoy the water features as well.

When I was cleaning the bubble bird bath this Eastern Garter Snake came zooming out.

The snake is in the center of the image. Bigafy to see it better. Garter Snakes are not strangers to the bubbler ponds.

Shed

In the A Snake in the … post I noted how the Northern Water Snake featured was soon to shed its skin. 

Well, skin has been shed.  

And I expect that snake feels a lot better for it.

Black Racer

Yet another snake has made an appearance outside my office window.

A Northern Black Racer.

An occasional visitor to the yard, and not one I spot often. So it was very cool to see one.

If I have to work, and I am dependently wealthy, I'm so happy I get to work form home and see things like this. If I was at the office office, I'd look out at a parking lot from four stories up.

The Return of Snappy

Back in March I blogged about about Snappy and how I moved him/her from the fish pond to the back pond.

It seems the fish pond is preferred.

I was at my desk and spotted something, a Common Snapping Turtle, out my window. Alas it was gone before I could grab a camera.

I didn't see it for several days, despite sitting out on the deck looking for it.

And then I saw it from my desk again, and snapped a few at best blog worthy images, like the one above.

I saw the turtle again this evening.

Long term, it is probably not a good idea to have a snapping turtle living in our fish pond, however cool it is to have another critter sharing our space. Now we just need to figure out how to capture and relocate it.

Anyone out there want a snapping turtle?

A Snake in the ...

... Filter box.

I mentioned that I spent much of the day doing yard work. This included cleaning the fish pond filters. And one of the 'hazards' of doing such is the various reptiles that call the pond home, including this Northern Water Snake, a reptile that is no stranger to this blog.

What is unique this time is that the snake could not see Me. Look closely at its eyes. They've turned blue-grey, a sign that the snake is about to shed its skin. It sensed my presence, it just didn't know where I was. A pinch to its tail and it went slithering into the rocks. Leaving me to attend to the filter in peace.

Hamster

Our second full day back from our New England adventure and I spent the morning doing yard work. I didn't feel like cooking, nor did Patty. So pizza it was. And as I drove into the parking area after picking up the pie, I spotted a turtle in walking on the garden path.

An Eastern Painted Turtle. It was not happy to have me around and tried to crawl off into the foliage. Unfortunately (?) for it, there is a fence there, and I was easily able to capture it.

I carried out the back pond and let it go, wondering it if was a new turtle or one that just went wandering. Perhaps to lay some eggs?

It quickly scurried into the water. And just as quickly turned around and swam toward me.

So I went and got some food.

And the turtle, no doubt Hamster, gobbled it down.

I wonder where it had wandered this time?

Yard Critter of the Week

Eastern Worm Snake, Carphophis amoenus amoenus.

A tiny snake.

That's it in my work gloved hand. 

I had my work gloves on because I was, wait for it, out working. Staking the bottom of the new section of deer fence. I moved a dead log, and something squirmed. A giant worm? No a Worm Snake! The first I've ever seen.

Here it is "hiding" under some debris. 

I put it in a small holding tank to get a good look at it. Note the pink worm-like underside.

I took my pictures, went inside and showed it to Patty, and then returned it back to where I found it and let it go.

It might be obvious, but these critters spend most of their time burrowed in the leaf litter, under rotting logs, or in the dirt. Most of their time is spent underground and out of view. Like worms in more way than one. And those earthworms are their primary prey.

🐍  🐍  🐍  🐍  🐍

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Snakes On The Rocks

Continuing the "Wildlife Out My Office Window" theme, I noticed what I thought was a snake by the fish pond. A common occurrence as the Northern Water Snakes have been hanging out in the filter boxen. 

I was wrong, it wasn't a snake.

It was two snakes. Northern Water Snakes. A female and male I believe, the female being the larger of the two.

And when I looked closer, I spotted a number of red mites. I count six on the female and one a rock in the image above. As there were a bunch more on the rocks, I'm not sure if they were afflicting the snakes or only wandering over them, just another type of rock as far as they were concerned. 

🕷  🕷  🕷

"So, naturalists observe, a flea has smaller fleas that on him prey; and these have smaller still to bite ’em; and so proceed ad infinitum." - Jonathan Swift

While trying to find out more about these mites I came upon the Parasite of the Day blog, specifically the page on Chiggers. I don't know if these are chiggers, although they do prey on reptiles. But I thought it was interesting, albeit a bit disgusting when you poke around there, that there is a Parasite of the Day blog.

Chubby

It seems the Northern Water Snake has been enjoying the pond fish.

Note the bulge a third of the way down.

One less fish in the pond methinks.

The Perils of Pond Maintenance

We have two ponds on our property, both installed by the prior owners. And both requiring ongoing maintenance.

One, our Fish Pond, is a clearly engineered affair, complete with a waterfall, the pump to keep it going, and filters to keep it clean. This one requires regular monthly, and sometimes more frequent,  filter cleanings, 

And yesterday when I went to clean the filters, I found this critter hanging out in the filter box. A Northerner Water Snake, no doubt dining on the resident fish.

Usually, these snakes are rather ornery, but I've found the ones in our ponds to be on the mild mannered side. And this one simply retreated to the bottom of the filter box as I removed and reinstalled the filter media.

Our Back Pond is a more natural looking pond. Just a hole in the ground with a liner. There is a bit of engineering in that the rain water from our garage is routed underground to the pond, making it in effect a large rain barrel.

After finishing with the Fish Pond I went to check on the Back Pond, and found this critter waiting. I guess we'll be enjoying each other's company the next time I work on this pond.

Baby Snake

While clearing the path for the additional deer fence I came upon a pile of roofing shingles, that had been there for quite some time. After finishing the fence path, I took my yard cart out to collect the shingles.

It took two trips, each with the card overfilled, One that saw the cart tip over, requiring it to be emptied and reloaded. Grrr ...

And as I was filling the cart for the initial trip I came upon this little snake.

A very docile Eastern Garter Snake. I was able to pick it up without any struggle on its part. So docile I was wondering if it was alive. It was, eventually opening its mouth in a threatening manner.

I was not scared.

My knife is about four inches long. This is a small snake.

I gently placed on a moss covered mound, and it continued to 'play dead'.

And it was still there when I returned for the second load of shingles. Perhaps it just needed to warm up, and eventually it made its way into the leaf litter. And I took the second and final load of shingles to the parking area. Where they joined the effort to combat the invading weeds.

It's Turtles all the Way Down

When we moved here to Piney Place there was an Eastern Painted Turtle which lived in our back pond, the one we call Hamster. And then last year there was A New Turtle in Town. And then earlier this year there were even Newer Turtles (and these baby turtles are small, about the size of a quarter).

And this past Sunday I was out by the back pond and I saw some turtles.

Often it is only the turtle head just breaking the surface of the water. And while sitting out at the back pond I spotted not one, not two, but three Eastern Painted Turtles poking above the surface. Each the size of Hamster. 

 Here is a close up, a bit easier to spot all three.

I think this is Hamster, as it has no issues with people being around. 

Above are the other two, each about the size of the lily pad leaves. And both a bit more timid.

And then, at the far edge of the pond, I spotted Snappy poking its head out. Nice to see it was still there.

So if the three baby turtles are still in there somewhere, that is a total of seven turtles. 

I wonder what the carrying capacity of the pond is?

Road Snake

On my way back from getting my second Covid vaccine shot I spotted this snake, a Northern Water Snake, sunning in the road, just a short distance from my place. I quick turned around and went back to see if it was alive, as it didn't move as I drove by, and if so to help it off the road.

I grabbed a stick from the side of the road and as I approached the snake did not move.

So I poked it. And I realized I should have grabbed a longer stick. It struck, luckily at the stick. But I kept poking, in the direction toward a stream. And eventually it tired of me and slithered off into the water. 

But one less road kill critter. And that's a good thing.

Dug In

Magnus that is. 

I was doing a bit of maintenance in the turtle enclosure when I spotted the shell. It is not only to hibernate. If it is too hot. Or too cold. Or just when calling it a day. 

Quite a bit of digging going on.