Our screened-in porch is my favorite room; I’m sitting here with my laptop and spied a quick movement out of the corner of my eye…a baby skink!  How it got in here, I haven’t a clue, but now I’m worried it will go hungry before it finds its way out.  Right now, it looks healthy and almost plump.  If I try to catch it, I might hurt it or it might lose its tail trying to get away.  No worries about the possibility of the Spoiled Mutt catching it – the skink is way too fast and can climb up the screens.  I’ll just keep an eye out for it for a few days.

Dona vs. the Voles

One of the reasons I love living out here (and one of the main reasons I garden) is the wildlife; birds, butterflies, turtles, lizards, skinks and frogs.  Not so happy about voles, though.  I had asked my daughter, a Registered Veterinary Technician, to keep me in mind if anyone brought a black snake or rat snake needing a new home into her clinic.  Maybe a snake would be a good way to reduce the number of voles without traps or poison.  Soon enough, I released a small, brown rat snake in my garden.  It promptly deserted the yard and decided to rest in the middle of the road – and I could hear a large tractor coming our way.

I stopped traffic while they rescued the snake.  It was quite unhappy about being bothered, coiling up and acting very belligerent.  The angry snake was taken further back into the yard and released again.  It hasn’t been seen since and it might honestly be too small to swallow a vole.

However, I’ve got a new strategy to chase the voles out of my gardens, I hope it works, because I’m becoming afraid to plant any more hostas (and I’ve got some beauties that need planted).  Stay tuned for future blogs “Dona vs. the Voles, Part III”.

Wrapping things up

On a happier note, there’s a little tree frog who has made a terrarium out of the rain gauge by the front door. He also looks plump and fairly contented.  When I take the Spoiled Mutt outside to potty, I’ve started say “Hi” to the tree frog.  I’ll let you know if he ever answers me.

After reviewing what I’ve just written, I’m beginning to worry what the neighbors (or you readers) might begin thinking about the crazy lady gardener.  I’m beginning to worry myself!

But, it’s still COVID-19 time and perhaps a bit of nuttiness or at least some whimsy might be a good thing.

Stay Green (and healthy), Good Friends!