On Tuesday, January 1, 2013 4:43:27 AM UTC-7, Farm1 wrote:
"songbird" wrote in message

...

i hope everyone out there in r.g.e land

has a great season -- even those folks down

under who are having a nice summer right

about now.



Thanks for the kind thoughts but as for the 'nice' summer, I'm feeling a bit

tender at the moment because of a number of factors............



Each morning, I go out kitted out in gardening gear after a shower and come

in dripping at about noon and swearing to myself that I really won't shower

before gardening again but each day, I get into autopilot and head for the

shower first thing..... I really must buy a dependable brain.....



Then yesterday, at dusk, I grab the compost bucket and head out to my big

plastic compost drum and flip the lid back only to be confronted by a very

large Eastern Brown Snake in the bin. I scream and back off quickly after

throwing the compost bucket and contents skywards leaving an agitated snake

wriggling madly in the bin under a partially open lid. I head inside

feeling like at total wimp.



Eastern Brown snakes are an edgy, nervy snake and highly venomous.

According to my snake ID book they are 12 times more venomous than a cobra.

I'ts hte sort of anske that is OK behind glass in a zoo where it looks

singularly unimpressive but it's certainly not teh sort of snake one wants

to meet up close and personal.



During the day we'd been working in and around that compst bin as it sits

between 2 apple trees and we were putting nets over the fruit trees as the

cockatoos are starting to take fruit to get to the seeds. Himself had also

been on his hands and knees weeding under one of the apple trees so he was

also not happy when I told him about the snake because of 'what might have

been'.



Today I decided that I needed to face the fear so went back and had a look

in the bin. No snake thankfully. I decided that I'd use my compost screw

to aerate the bin and was prepared to drop all and run if I pulled up a

snake. All went well - just lots of wriggling red compost worms.



But otherwise, on the plus side in the garden, I finally have tomatoes just

about ripe, there are zucchini on the bushes and it looks like we might get

an excellent crop of apples and pears.



I just hope that is the last sodding snake I see for the season. Ever again

would be good, but that is way too much to hope for.

Snakes kill mice, rats and various other rodents. Just avoid them...they won't stalk you are attack without
provocation so I am told. We only have garter snakes here
thank gawd for that.