Forced Relocation

Rabbit Relocation
Rabbit Relocation

I trapped this little guy using a have-a-heart trap. He has been living under my house and eating out of my garden. Now he has been safely relocated to a rural area about 5 miles from here. I wish him only the best in his new surroundings.

Note: No animals were harmed in the writing of this post.

Sunbathing Snake

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It’s a real wakeup shock to walk up on a 3 to 4 foot snake laying in the sun right beside the trail. My mind registered him and my muscles reacted instinctively. Before I even realized it, I had jumped 2 feet in the air and backward. Only then did I become consciously aware there was a snake, and what I had done. Ancient survival programming recognizing a danger pattern and firing. There is still that animal core of protective instinct deep within us.

Mr. Gopher Snake remained frozen, his own instinct telling him not to move. I left him in peace to soak up as much sun as he wanted. He has a tale to tell Mrs. Gopher Snake this evening.

Gopher Snake Sunning
Gopher Snake Sunning

Rain On The Roof

It’s not often that I lay in my bed at night in southern California and hear rain falling on the roof. But it does happen. And when it does, my thoughts go to the majority of years of my life, spent in the rainy southeast. I remember all the nights of falling asleep with rain pounding on the roof. The far off sound of thunder and lightning providing accompaniment, puncturing the rhythm of the storm.

I miss that sound of thunder. A lot. I miss the heavy downpours where you can’t even see the other side of the lake. And storm water runoff so heavy with green pollen that it appeared the street gutters were running with paint. Every car is some shade of green. Pine trees puffing clouds of green pollen smoke when the wind blows. You can almost hear all the plants moaning in pleasure from the luxury of free water falling from the sky. And how crystal clear the atmosphere is after the storm has washed all the particulate matter out of it.

Enough. Time to let this rain lull me to sleep.