Yesterday I was in the greenhouse, continuing the endless task of taking care of the tomatoes. While I was there, I decided to finally clean up one corner that had somehow become a “later” place.
There were mostly cardboard from IKEA furniture and a few empty potting soil bags. Nothing exciting. Or so I thought.
When I lifted one of the bags, I got quite a surprise. Underneath was a tiny baby snake! A lovely little thing, although clearly disturbed by my sudden appearance. It quickly slipped away to find a safer hiding place.
After the baby snake disappeared, I became curious. If there was one, maybe there were more?
So I lifted all the cardboard and decided it was time to move everything out of the greenhouse. Sure enough, I found four more baby snakes hiding underneath.
Five baby snakes in total!
I suppose they had found the perfect nursery among the warm cardboard and bags. It was a reminder that even the messy corners of the garden are often home to someone.
In the end, I left the last layer of cardboard in place so they could decide for themselves whether to stay or move on to a better home. They seemed quite happy there before I arrived with my cleaning plans.
The greenhouse is a little tidier now, and I’ve gained five unexpected garden visitors. Hopefully, the baby snakes will continue to thrive.
This morning I lifted the cardboard one last time. The babies were gone, so I cleaned out the remaining cardboard as well. I hope they have found a new hiding place somewhere nearby. We have plenty of those 🙂
Ilze
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Hmm – you trusting soul! What if there had been a worried Mama snake ready to get mad at you ? Or did you say none were poisonous in Latvia . .. I seem to remember there were some in Estonia ?
Only one, that lives in swamps, These are cute ones and not poisonous. They still bite… but it doesn’t matter 🙂 Well, they aren’t biting me 🙂 Not yet!
Pretty babies – sure they aren’t venomous? They might be useful keeping rodents away!
My grandmother always said, “If you see yellow ‘ears,’ it’s not venomous. If you see a zigzag on its back, run!”
I still trust my grandmother, even though she is no longer with me. These little sayings and bits of knowledge will always stay with me. The same goes for everything she taught me about picking mushrooms. Some lessons become part of who you are and never really leave.
Grandmother’s wisdom¨
Yes… there is such thing…
How sweet, Ilze. Your story calls to mind the first line of a poem I heard years ago written by a poet who lived a secluded life in a cabin by a lake. It stays with me, though I only remember the first line: Everything lodges with me here…
What a beautiful line. I can see why it stayed with you all these years. It feels very true somehow — the people, stories, and little pieces of wisdom we collect along the way really do lodge with us and become part of who we are. My grandmother’s snake and mushroom lessons certainly found a permanent home with me. 😊
It was so happy to read that you did not harm the snakes and gave them the choice to leave or stay. Happy and blessed Tuesday to you.
Thank you! They were there before me, after all. 😊 I was the one disturbing their little corner of the greenhouse, so it only seemed fair to let them decide whether to stay or move on. They looked quite content tucked away under the cardboard.
Happy and blessed Tuesday to you as well! Do you often come across snakes where you live, or are they a rare sight?
We have a lot of snakes here in Arkansas. There is a King snake that stays at my place and has for a few years now. They are nice snakes that keep away rodents. They are non venomous. I See it out sunning every now and then and thank it for keeping away the rodents. 🙂
Nice! I’m so happy you didn’t kill it! It actually looks quite beautiful (at least judging by the photos I found on Google 😊).
I have a friend who completely loses it whenever she sees a snake and will kill it with whatever happens to be within reach…
We all are different…
It is against the law to kill snakes here in Arkansas.
Not sure if it’s against the law here…. I think there is no law that protects our snakes! Maybe there should be…
Not A Tale of Two Cities, but of five baby snakes.
Baby snakes are adorable, I wish I can pick them up.. but I’m bit scared to touch them 🙂
Oh! Hello there.
Oh my goodness, what little cuties! I hope they stay nearby 🙂
They will, we have healthy environment 🙂