Owls, Squirrels, and Snakes...Oh My!

I am loving living in the "country" right now.  Now that spring is here the trees are so green and flowers are blooming all around.  Animals are also coming around a lot more.

Some of the animals we have around here are

Owls

Squirrels

Hawks

Blue Jays

Cardinals

Woodpeckers

SNAKES

Yes...SNAKES!  But by that I mean SNAKE.  Just one.  I walked right outside my front door and there it was, hanging out right in the middle of the walkway.  Good thing I was paying attention and saw it.  Most days I just walk right on my merry way and don't look down.  Then I would have stepped on it.  Then it probably would have bitten me.  Then I would have screamed.  Then I would have panicked.  That would not have been fun.  

But I didn't step on it.

And it wasn't THAT big.  It was about 1 1/2-2 feet long and about an inch in diameter.  Although, it was a little thicker in some areas since it had probably just eaten a couple of lizards.

My first instinct was to run inside and grab my camera because I HAD to get documentation of the little guy.

My neighbor was outside so I called him over to see if he knew what kind of snake it was.  It's a Texas Garter Snake and is mostly harmless...non-poisonous and will eat all the bugs and small rodents you want!  

Okay!  I'll keep it around!

But I wasn't too keen on it staying there in the middle of the walkway, so we slowly approached it and it gradually backed off and slithered away. 

Here are some of the pictures I've taken of the animals around here.  I'm still working on getting some pictures of the blue jays and cardinals.  They are such pretty birds!