"Chris Barnes" wrote

Ok, I have to know this: was this groups' habit of naming snakes "Bob"
going on before I joined the group? Or is it something I started (my
wife and kids have been naming all snakes "Bob" for about 3 years now, the
first being a 6' eastern coachwhip).

It your post was earlier this year, then yeah it's your fault. I adopted it,
since all the regulars knew what I was talking about.

Now you are the stuff of legends.....


--
Gareee
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:35:52 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

Ok, I have to know this: was this groups' habit of naming snakes "Bob"
going on before I joined the group? Or is it something I started (my
wife and kids have been naming all snakes "Bob" for about 3 years now,
the first being a 6' eastern coachwhip).

I named my snake "Bob" because I asked the group what I should name
it. I got several suggestions, but "Bob" was short, easy to spell,
and happens to be a word I can say. So Bob it was, but like I've
said, I haven't seen the snake around for a long time. When Bob was
around the whole pond was quiet, but wound up tight like a coiled
spring. Now frogs are sitting around on lily pads, tadpoles are
swimming, bugs are buzzing, the whole place seems much happier and
more relaxed. The whole place seems less tense.

Anyway, if and when Bob returns he might find an entirely different
"welcome" from what he experienced before. I haven't decided exactly
what I'll do, I'm just kind of hoping that I won't have to deal with
such a situation. I live out in the boonies in northern Florida, a
good ten minutes drive from the nearest "town," which, although it is
the county seat, isn't exactly big. I live where most folks would
relocate their snakes *to*. In any event, there would be another
"Bob" to replace the one I relocated, if I were to do so. Netting is
out of the question, the pond is much to large for that. Any
suggestions?
--
Galen Hekhuis
We'll cross that bridge when it rears its ugly head

"Hal" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:35:46 CST, "Gareee©"
wrote:

Ok, this stuff is supposed to grow fast.. so if I take a clipping off it,
and toss it in a large tub, it'll still grow?

Thinking of growing a few more offshoots...

Grows better in winter for me. I've a few sprigs in the shade that
seem to be taking off and one that rooted in a pot with another plant,
but when it is growing well every small shoot grows, floating or stuck
in dirt. It doesn't have to be on top to grow. It will grow to the
top on its own if potted and sunk below the waterline.

Good to know! Thanks!

--
Gareee
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:20:40 CST, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:

When Bob was around the whole pond was quiet, but wound up tight like a coiled
spring. Now frogs are sitting around on lily pads, tadpoles are
swimming, bugs are buzzing, the whole place seems much happier and
more relaxed. The whole place seems less tense.

I have a similar story. When we started up the new filter on the lily pond,
many of the tadpoles slipped thru the bottom drain into the pre-filter. I
figured this was good, they were safe there. They could climb out when the
time came, can't get sucked into pump, and most of all, away from the fish
I was putting in the pond.

Several days after I put in 3 fantails and 4 wakins, my son informs me that
one of the fantails is in the pre-filter. I net him out and find only 1 or
2 tadpoles. :-( Next day, a few more tadpoles show up so I figure the fish
didn't get them all. Later that same day, fantail is again in the
prefilter, no tadpoles to be seen. So back to the stock tank, no more
chasing tadpoles. The next morning I check the pre-filter to make sure no
one else has taken the ride, and tons of tadpoles and little froglets,
swimming and hanging out. So I think they must have hidden in the muck at
the bottom while that fantail was in there... tense!

I can't find a single taddie in the pond, unless I disturb some of the
thicker SA I was hoping to remove. Guess I'll wait on that. So far the fish
are happy, and no one had turned up missing by flight. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:47:21 CST, "Gareee©"
wrote:

that stuff wont grow for me. but I think one end likes to be tucked
into a bit of dirt.

Hmmm will it grow outside a pond?

Gonna have to google it...

My wife made a pretty cool hanging pot with it one year by plugging
the holes in the pot.

Regards,

Hal

Hi..

that stuff wont grow for me.

I'm so sorry! It's one of my favourite indoor and outdoor
plants.. ;-)

but I think one end likes to
be tucked into a bit of dirt.

Yeah.., it's like several other bog plants able to be kept
inside respectively outside (the) water..

--
cu
Marco, original bog plant supporter..

Hi..

I'm shocked..! ;-)
As am I! I've been plagiarized! harrumpt! ~ jan

Hm.., today all good things are in danger to be copied..
--
cu
Marco

sorry no mongoose "The mongoose cannot legally be brought into the
United States because of its destructive habits."

but a ferret might do....

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
Anyway, if and when Bob returns he might find an entirely different
"welcome" from what he experienced before. I haven't decided exactly
what I'll do, I'm just kind of hoping that I won't have to deal with
such a situation. I live out in the boonies in northern Florida, a
good ten minutes drive from the nearest "town," which, although it is
the county seat, isn't exactly big. I live where most folks would
relocate their snakes *to*. In any event, there would be another
"Bob" to replace the one I relocated, if I were to do so. Netting is
out of the question, the pond is much to large for that. Any
suggestions?


Generally speaking, I like having Bobs around. They are certainly
preferable to the other things that would be around if they weren't
(mice, rats, vols, even rabbits & skunks in my garden). But seeing as
how it was a water snake (which tend to eat more fish than rodents), I
can see why you would want it relocated.

If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

to dissuade snakes you need a Riki Tiki Tavi
... a pet mongoose. Ingrid

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:32:05 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

Generally speaking, I like having Bobs around.

And therein lies the problem, I kinda like snakes too. In my youth, I
used to keep a few around, at least until my mother and father found
out, I was a trying child. I've fed snakes, I've handled snakes, I've
spent some time identifying them and such.

They are certainly
preferable to the other things that would be around if they weren't
(mice, rats, vols, even rabbits & skunks in my garden). But seeing as
how it was a water snake (which tend to eat more fish than rodents), I
can see why you would want it relocated.

I have all of those anyway, except the voles.

If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

I've not run across a BB gun yet that has either the power nor the
accuracy to dispatch much of anything. A BB gun might just anger the
snake, which, in the case of a venomous one, is not a particularly
smart thing to do. Besides, unless you pay attention, you are most
likely to end up with copper-clad BBs, and I'm not sure I'd want to
introduce copper into the pond. With pellet guns you can easily
achieve the power and accuracy needed. I have a supply of non-lead
pellets in .177 and .22. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the snake)
I am extremely reluctant to go that route.

The hassle is that the pond is so much more "laid back" now that the
snake isn't there. I can't really put my finger on it, but it seems
like the whole pond has breathed a sigh of relief. I got sort of a
perverse pleasure out of having a snake in my pond while it was there,
but while it hung around virtually nothing moved, and those critters
that did made quick, fearful movements.

In days past I'd have just waded into the pond, grabbed the snake, and
stuck it in one of the other ponds, but that is a bit beyond my
capabilities now. I've had some experience with the Hav-A-Hart type
traps but fail to see how that might be useful with a 4 1/2 footer. Is
it possible to trap such a snake?

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:32:05 CST, Chris Barnes wrote:

water snakes
If your pond is too large for a net, your only real alternative option
is a BB/pellet gun (an option I personally wouldn't like, but then
again, I like snakes).

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:17:11 CST, ~ jan wrote:

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan

I feel compelled to add that shooting at a pond (or any body of water)
is generally a poor idea. The projectile (BB, pellet, bullet, etc.)
can ricochet off the water and go some unintended directions. In my
case, it doesn't really matter. I can't see my neighbors, I can't
hear my neighbors, I don't really have any neighbors, at least not in
the usual sense. I live alone and there is never, ever anyone besides
me when I go "weeding." Sometimes you can hear the pellet go crashing
through the trees behind the pond after skipping off the water when I
miss a weed. I don't think guns and water mix too well.

Justin's page is dated 2002. Long ago and far away palagarization.

Jim

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:17:11 CST, ~ jan wrote:

Let's add, and be a really skilled shot, else your liner could suffer more
damage than any snake. ;-) ~ jan

I feel compelled to add that shooting at a pond (or any body of water)
is generally a poor idea. The projectile (BB, pellet, bullet, etc.)
can ricochet off the water and go some unintended directions. In my
case, it doesn't really matter. I can't see my neighbors, I can't
hear my neighbors, I don't really have any neighbors, at least not in
the usual sense. I live alone and there is never, ever anyone besides
me when I go "weeding." Sometimes you can hear the pellet go crashing
through the trees behind the pond after skipping off the water when I
miss a weed. I don't think guns and water mix too well.


Yes, but....

Distance. Even really good BB guns can't shoot more than a few dozen
feet with any force. And ricocheting off of objects takes quite a bit
of what little energy was in the BB out.

Now if we were talking about a .22 or even a rimfire .177, then yeah, I
agree - shooting at water is a bad idea.


Also (for jan) - Mythbusters recently did a program where they tested
how far various guns could shoot underwater (both fired in the water as
well as from above shooting from above into the water). Turns out that
even a high powered, military .50 cal sniper rifle won't put a bullet
into the water more than a dozen feet or so. So unless your pond is
REALLY shallow, a BB gun almost certainly can't hurt the liner (if you
even have a liner in a pond big enough to attack snakes).

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."