Category: Bugs and Animals

Bugs, insects, wild animals and pets.

Skittle Finds a Slithering Playmate

Skittle was happy to have a little, squirmy playmate the other afternoon. I guess this is a baby garter snake. I don’t know my northern snakes very well, except that they are not poisonous.
If this was Florida, that little snake would most likely be a pygmy rattler and my cat would now be dead.
I wonder if cats can tell bad (deadly) snakes from good?
She didn’t harm it. We saw the snake later out in the grass.

Little snake plays with cat
Skittle Finds a Playmate
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A Visit From the Barred Owl

barred owl
Barred Owl Out Back

One of my winter stories includes a daily visit from this barred owl. It is common in my area of the country and for a while I would see it sitting on a branch near my backyard. The birds still came to eat and didn’t seem worried about it, and even a few squirrels ran around either unaware or unafraid. I was a bit nervous about letting my cats out, but the owl just sat in the tree for hours and didn’t move except to look around.

I had to look up the owl to find out what food it favors and it eats lots of little stuff, like mice and voles, snakes and even crickets. It has been seen taking a cat, but it’s not a normal thing for it to do. I doubt this guy was hunting anyway since it was in the middle of the day when I would see him / her.

Maybe he just wanted a nice branch to rest on.

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