Fauna Alert

Shortly after moving in, we noticed that every night, we were stricken with adorable plagues.

First we noticed the grasshoppers, locusts, and cicadas. I really like the noise. It reminds me of my childhood in Texas. The Ms., on the other hand, is baffled, and is now convinced that Mother Nature lacks any reason or compassion.

Also, at dusk, our porch and sidewalks were covered with dozens of toads, ranging from dark red to gray and brown.

We also get the occasional bat flitting around, killing the mosquitos. Go bats!

Then there was this:



Scared the Ms. and the wee one into the house. I snapped a few photos before shooing it into the woods behind our fence. Later researched confirmed it was a nerodia, commonly known as the orange-bellied water snake. Non-venomous but aggressive. The experts tell me this one was probably gravid. Look it up.