There is a dark side to living in the country. No, it isn’t people turning old toilets into planters. It isn’t even the library that is smaller than my laundry room.
It is the critters that live side by side with you and you don’t even know they are there until you run smack into them. Like this….
It is called a black and yellow argiope. I’m pretty sure that isn’t what Michael called it when he saw it.
Here it is in a jar….ON MY COUNTER.
It’s HUGE. The abdomen is roughly the size of a nickle. And it is on my counter. They say it is a common garden/field spider. I think that is like saying Godzilla was just a little lizard.
Then there was this…
It looks innocent enough but it is a yellow jacket nest that is the size of a basketball. I think you can guess why Michael didn’t get closer to get the picture. He bought three cans of Raid to use on this thing.
And then there is this guy….
Ok, he’s a keeper. Especially since he gets rid of all the scary stuff.
Ran across this little treasure right next to the pond….
It is a red-sided California garter snake. It must be lost. See the big tadpole with legs to the left of it? The snake was in the process of eating it when we stumbled upon it. It spit it out and scurried out into the pond. Anyone remember the scene from Lonesome Dove that involved a river crossing and a nest of water moccasins? We have snakes that swim in the pond. Ok, so it is a garter snake and not a water moccasin but still.
We also have bullfrogs in the pond.
They are fun to listen to. Apparently they will eat garter snakes. So here is how it goes. The garter snake eats the young frogs. The young frogs that they don’t eat grow up and eat garter snakes. It sounds like the Ewing family from the tv show Dallas.
On a much more pleasant note this is the kitty that has adopted us…
Luke and the cat like to play together. It is fun to watch.
So this is my life. I feel like I’m living one of my beloved “B” movies from the 1950’s. You remember the giant tarantulas , ants, scorpions, etc.
I’m afraid that we haven’t even scratched the surface of what lives with us here at Salt Creek Farm.
I hope you will still choose to come for a visit.
Karen
Karin,
Hmmm…. the spider looks very familiar (perhaps the same) as what we used to call a banana spider in Fl, and they are here in NC too. Don’t know why they named them ‘banana’, but they are found in so many places, and often where you prefer them not to be. Here on the farm we have found rattlesnakes and copperheads, but only a few, so we are careful to look where we walk. In the tall grass, you can only protect yourselves with boots. Our neighbors walk around barefoot though, I guess not too concerned. Yes, agreed, the darker side to country living. I’ve lost count of how many spider bites I’ve had, but here we are. God has a strong hedge of protection around you all, as He does us. Love you.