GARDEN SURPRISE

 First you look to the left and then you look to the right

Now you look out the middle.  All you can see are the trees.

These are the views from my back porch now that the trees are leafed out.  You can barely see a neighbor's house through the branches.  Yes, it is like being in a tree house.

We took our Sunday walk to see what was new in the garden.

Pink Columbine

Hydrangea buds

Ferns have joined the Flamingos.

Arum in bloom

  And the sedums have filled the pot with lush new growth.  They will start blooming in another few weeks.

The biggest discovery and a surprise that we found in the garden was when we walked down to check on the fish in the lower pond.  As we turned on the deck and started to come back up the steps there lay our friend.  He has been around for a few years, but we don't always see him.  In April he is pretty sluggish and allowed the Mister to get several pictures of him today.

He is a simple, non-poisonous garden snake about 3 feet long who does a good job of keeping the rodent population down.  We live near a lake and our neighbors have lots of bird feeders so there are lots of small rats and chipmunks.  He takes care of the control of them.
We may not see him again all summer.  The only way we know that he is probably around is in the control of the varmints we don't like.
In case you are going to ask me.  No, I do not know exactly what kind of snake he is.  Just non-poisonous and common.

                                       -sandi