slithering

A few months ago, installing a doggie door seemed like such a great thing to do. I grew tired of the cats scratching at the front window, demanding to be let in. Or out. Or back in again. The same story for Dahlia and the back door. I began to feel like they were demanding too much of me. So, we installed the doggie door.

And now Coleridge brings in anything and everything he catches. Remember the robin? Well, that was a pleasant surprise compared with today's little number:

Aah!!!

I do not like snakes. Especially in my house. At least I was right there when he brought it inside, and I didn't find it later coiled around Liam's leg or something.

But still. It was a snake. In my kitchen.

I snapped a quick picture, then swished it to the laundry room and out the back door with a broom.

Then I googled it. To be sure there wasn't a poisonous snake now lurking in my backyard.

Turns out he was a harmless worm eater. A Prairie Ringneck Snake.

I found a great Arkansas snake identification page called Herps of Arkansas. Apparently, there are a lot of snake varieties in our area. This is making me even more squeamish than the little one in the kitchen. There are a lot out there...