Lodge & Lake Report

Yesterday the dogs cornered this milk snake in their fenced yard. It was either hunting for rodents or else resting in gap beneath a concrete step behind our garage.



It looks scary but it's completely harmless. Unless you're a rodent.

When I first arrived on the scene it was lying on the stone step, trapped between Ruth and Jewel who were barking their heads off. I keep telling them it's against state law to harrass wildlife, but they can't help themselves. So I put them inside the house and went back outside to wrangle the snake and remove it from their territory.

I picked up the snake on a this bamboo stake.



Then I gently flung it over the fence and into the woods.

Ooops--I accidentally pitched it into a hemlock tree!



I doubt it had ever been so high up, but it soon found a way to get down again, because when I went to check on it--no sign of the snake. We rarely see this species on the property, common garter snakes are more common--and evoke less reaction from the girls.

If you want to know more about the milk snake, go here.

By midday I headed to the Big Lake on my own. I'm always happy to see the horses grazing in the pasture down the road. Mostly appaloosas, but this summer there's a fifth horse which is solidly dark brown, almost black. You can see its head in the far right of the grouping.



When I arrived at the cottage, the Old Yankee weather stick was as flat and straight as I'd ever seen it.



But today it looks like this!



Perfect August weather, sunny and warm. I decided to work down on the dock. Here's my "office" set-up and view:



Commuters.



I had a very nice swim. The water is up to 76 degrees now, or a little more. By the time I came up to the house, there was writing all over the paper. Tonight I will type up the scene, and proceed to the next one.