[Magdalen] Taking care of our neighbors in the yard

[Lynn Ronkainen]

Critter lover here as well.  My backyard condo garden (flowers and herbs) is 
filling in nicely with the cool for April weather here and sunny days. The 
squirrels can be pests, but funny antics, I've finally gotten the Cardinals 
to eat sunflower seeds from one of my feeders, the hummers are here (for 
now) and the only sadness... a feral and pregnant calico nabbed a male 
cardinal out of my mulberry tree (in a pot)  in the blink of an eye last 
week.... I had not even noticed him until he jumped away with something RED 
in his mouth. He must have been starving, but it was a sad day.  For several 
days the female kept coming around just looking. Now their brood is here 
eating peaceably at the feeder. Lizards and bright green frogs (hiding but 
noisy) and my 'guard toad' (huge, I'm telling you.... perhaps even biggly) 
who has a few favorite haunts that I often find him snoozing in by accident 
while watering or moving some potted plants around.  There have been reports 
in the community of snakes but I've never seen one in my yard in 9 years.

Sigh. I do love my tiny spot of garden.... just the other day I pondered if 
loving the book _Secret Garden_ in my youth contributed to my love of 
gardening.

Lynn

website: www.ichthysdesigns.com

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not a 
single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me." 
attributed to Erma Bombeck
"Either Freedom for all or stop talking about Freedom at all" from a talk by 
Richard Rohr
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they 
oppress." F Douglass

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Marion Thompson" <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2017 3:41 PM
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Taking care of our neighbors in the yard

> Not weird.  I like snakes and all the critters that share their living 
> space with me.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
>
> On 4/28/2017 2:10 PM, Jay Weigel wrote:
>> I'm weird. I like snakes, at least the non-poisonous ones, although I may
>> jump and shriek a bit if startled by one. At our last stop on last
>> weekend's rockhounding trip, one of the guys found a baby milk snake
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_snake  He was taking it home to put in
>> his garden. It was about 6 inches long. Cute little guy.
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 1:54 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
>> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> In a message dated 4/28/2017 1:26:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>>> gracecan at gmail.com writes:
>>>
>>> To their  minds, the only good snake was a dead  snake.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Pennsylvania Turnpike NE Extension has just one tunnel
>>> compared to the PA East/West Turnpike which has lots of them.
>>> About twenty years ago, they made the NE tunnel four-lane.  The
>>> surveyors never encountered a snake at the site in the Blue
>>> Mountain, but the day the contractor arrived with the heavy duty
>>> rock borers and movers, rattlesnakes were "everywhere."
>>>
>>> The snakes apparently did not like the noise and vibrations.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> David S.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> .
>>
>