A Summer Surprise...Oregano Anyone?!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  We are having a VERY busy & fun summer here in the Lee household.  It seems each day is packed full of work (dehydrating, learning to can, cooking from scratch, fermenting, baking, etc.), yet is so much fun... and educational too!!

One morning when I was walking back into the house from our garden, I noticed a big long stick on the ground... you can imagine my shock when that stick started slithering... YES, a SNAKE... and yes, I was slightly (okay, VERY) terrified!!  The 2 1/2 foot long snake was in between the 2 doors that go into the back of our house, so I felt trapped unsure of which door to go into.   

Eventually the snake slithered closer to one door & I quickly went in the other; but only to get my camera because I knew I needed to find out what kind of snake it was, not just for educational purposes as I was concerned if someone got bit we'd need to know what type of snake it was. 

Oregano, anyone??

According to my trusty friends, Google & Wikipedia, it was a common garden snake & much to my relief, non-poisonous.  While a snake bite would still be scary, at least I knew that should the snake actually be a resident in our yard and a kiddo accidentally step on it (I almost did that myself) & ** gulp **, get bit, there would not be the added trauma of having to worry about being poisoned.  Whew, what a relief!!

The Lee kids & I watched the snake for a bit (once I knew it wasn't poisonous)... I snapped some more pix... it was so fascinating to watch it slither around the yard, in our oregano, & then finally make its exit away from our presence... God's creation is amazing!! 

My children know that whenever an opportunity presents itself, such as the snake in our yard, we turn it into a fabulous learning experience by reading books (the kids LOVE to read... all.of.the.time!), researching, oral or written reports, etc.  We have some neat science books, "I Wonder Why" & the kids LOVE to read them... we even have an "I Wonder Why" book about snakes, which was quite appropriate for the occasion.  The only downside to the kids reading so much, if you could call it a downside, is that I am quite often finding them around the house, which isn't bad unless you stub your toe or slip on them (not good, trust me on that one!!). 

Hey, my kids always wanted a pet snake, so there you go!! LOL  Not quite what they had hoped for, but for me it means no clean up, feeding, etc. involved.. win, win, no?! 

 How is YOUR summer going??  Have YOU ever found a snake in your yard??  I have never seen one that was not a pet or in a zoo, so I was quite taken back.  Do YOU like snakes and/or other creepy crawlies??  How is YOUR summer going??  What are YOU doing this summer??