Sunday, April 28, 2013

My Cottage Garden | Intruder

intruder
Look closely and you will see the intruder in my nesting box.  
I'm wondering if the nest is a mouse nest. The wrens that usually nest here 
typically use twigs and grasses and this is mostly moss and fur. 
I'm not sure if the snake is dead or hibernating. 
Either way, I'm not going to touch it. Yikes!

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah, YIKES!
At least it's sleeping - imagine if it had been awake and on alert when you opened the box.

Unknown said...

Whoa! Mother Nature does hold surprises. One has to be alert at all times I am thinking...
I bet that snake wondered who made it such a special resting spot. Awesome photo.

Anonymous said...

You were brave to even take a photo!

dolores said...

Haha...looks to healthy to be dead...what a nice place to sleep. I'm sure it will be gone soon enough.
Great photo!

Anonymous said...

Oh my word, thats a big fella! Snakes are beautiful to look at but never really had a close encounter with one.. well apart from the zoo!

holly aka golly said...

A little update: He's still there. Definitely alive. He's moved ever so slightly. Waiting for hubby to come home and handle the situation! :)

Judys Lace Creations said...

Oh dear..snakes!!YUK!!

Laura said...

Oh wow! Please tell us what happened next!

jo quirk said...

Wow! I always thought of the UK as a very benign place apart from all the stoats and weasels that filled fairy tales. Brits are always so paranoid about coming to Australia because of all our creepy creatures but I have never met a snake in the wild! One to you! What sort of snake could it be?

holly aka golly said...

It was a big black snake. Hubby banished him from our yard, although I think his family lives in our big tree. They are good about keeping the mice away, but I'd rather not see them up close and writhing around!

Doda Smith said...

scary guest!
Would make a great painting though. Glad he's gone now!

holly aka golly said...

I'd much rather paint them - actually I like painting them - but it's one creature I'd rather not see in person!

Hastypearl said...

Holly, I'm a Texas girl. The state, has 4 snakes that are venomous, the rest, while there are many, are not. A long whip snake got into our Martin house and ate/ killed birds that I had waited years to get. The bird specialist said that that kind of "news" actually travels in the birding community and it would be a long time before martins would trust that house again. We forget that even snakes have to eat. Needless to say, that snake , as we say, went to heaven that day! My husband almost jumped off of the ladder when he opened the Martin door and met the snake face to face!
Nature is fascinating! Happy painting...Laura

holly aka golly said...

Hasty: I believe it! We had another snake at least two seasons ago and the wrens have stopped nesting in that box. I've read that birds don't have a great sense of smell so I wonder how the communicate the bad news!