Say Ahhhh

You just have to love baby rat snakes.  They are tiny and totally fierce.  They can also be hard to see.  As I stepped out of the office door today I nearly stepped on this little fellow.  He sort of blended into the gravel of the walkway.

Of course I picked him up.  How could I not?  He was just so darned cute.  He did not find me cute, however.  He immediately went on the defensive and showed me all his teeth (tiny though they were).

I admired him for a bit before putting him down.  Too few snakes make it to adulthood -- they are so very vulnerable at this stage.  Everything wants to eat them.  I hope this little fellow makes it through.

He has moxie ;)

Look Out Below

Late this afternoon as I was walking the boardwalk at work, I came across an interesting sight.

It was an apparent bear scat, complete with black gum berries and seeds.  The weird thing was that it was a giant splat.  Hmmm, could it be that bears don't do it in the woods, but rather in the trees??

I looked up.  Way, way up...

So could that be the culprit?  Time to zoom in.

Yep, there, about 80 or 90 feet up, was a black bear.  He was happily munching out on black gum berries.  Guess he couldn't be bothered to climb down the tree to answer nature's call.  Instead, he just let fly from above. 

Let this be a reminder to one and all -- take the time to look up now and then.  And wear a hat.