I like snakes, really I do!

When I got home from work the other night, Barry called me to quickly come help him. A medium-sized black snake had gotten caught in the bird netting around his tomato plants (to protect them against deer), and he was having to cut the netting away to free the snake. I had to hold the snake while Barry cut the netting away, and then he forced me to pose for the photo above. He soon relieved me of my duties and relocated the snake out in the woods near the creek.

Memorial Day Montage

I spent most of Memorial Day outside -- planting, weeding, pruning, mulching, and sweeping. I took a moment to capture some shots from around the yard on this lovely day. Can you find the bullfrog in the picture above? That little guy guards our pond all the time. He's very cute! And, we had our first lily bloom today, though I didn't manage to get it all into this photo:

Here's a wider view of the pond. Since we no longer have fish to munch 'em, the plants are thriving this year, and we have millions of tadpoles swimming around.

Here are a couple of photos of the backyard area, which has been taken over by hummingbirds zipping around lately. It's one of my favorite parts of the yard, especially when the roses are blooming.

Finally, here are some long-awaited porch photos. They're kind of dark, because we have to keep the ceiling shades drawn when it's hot and sunny like today so that it doesn't heat up too much. We absolutely love spending time in our new space, and it's my favorite room in the house now. The muted colors, shade, and tile floor give it a sense of coolness even when it's quite warm by the thermometer.

Looking in from one screen door

Looking in from the other screen door - the open door into the house is in the background

Looking out from inside the house - we eat most of our meals at that table now!

Looking out from the house - you can see the ceiling blinds here

First paddle of the season

We finally got out on our kayaks today for the first time this year. Ah, a long weekend...wish I had more of them. You can be productive and do chores and errands but can still find time to have fun. And this was fun! There were very few others out paddling today, so it was mostly just us and the birds. We saw great blue herons, various songbirds, a protonotary warbler, and heard a kingfisher. The fish were jumping, and with temperatures in the upper 80s by the time we were done, it really felt like summer. We sure could use some rain, though, to keep the Eno River navigable -- and water my flowers.