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SNAKES!

Or at least one. The chimney sweep came to ready the fireplaces for
the winter and we surprised a big black one who was resting close to
the house. I guess the voles advertised themselves with their rodenty
scent. Or something. One odd thing--it is in the 40s here at night
now. Seems like he should be underground and dreaming voley dreams.

J. Del Col wrote:

Snakes come out to warm themselves and get their metabolisms in gear
on sunny autumn days. As long as the -days- are warm, snakes will be
active.

Well, good! Let's hope he fills up on cute little furry voles. The sweep
and I were talking when I noticed his eyes get huge as he looked at the
ground. "Did you SEE that?" I didn't but caught the tail end as I bent
down to look under the laurel. It was a big 'un!

How's fall shaping up in WV? Have you built a fire yet?

J. Del Col

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 12:44:44 -0500 (EST), "Shiva"
wrote:

How's fall shaping up in WV? Have you built a fire yet?

Here in Tennessee, it's hard to believe that it's post Halloween. That
holiday usually ushers in the start of pretty cold weather. It was
almost 80 on Halloween. Currently it's 82! And we had a frost one
night that was actually 2 weeks ahead of schedule at the beginning of
October. What in the heck is going on? If I had known that it would
stay this warm this late, I wouldn't have stopped feeding at the end
of August. It actually feels like late May at the moment.

....waiting for the other shoe to drop...

In article m, Shiva
wrote:

SNAKES!

Or at least one. The chimney sweep came to ready the fireplaces for
the winter and we surprised a big black one who was resting close to
the house. I guess the voles advertised themselves with their rodenty
scent. Or something. One odd thing--it is in the 40s here at night
now. Seems like he should be underground and dreaming voley dreams.

Some snakeologist on the radio (yeah, herpetologist or something or
other) was talking about preserving cottonmouths in the south. He said
that a good snake will each a pillow case full of rodents each year.
Nice visual. Sweet dreams, huh? Frankly, I've found that my snake
population and rodent population are both growing steadily.

dave weil wrote in message . ..
On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 12:44:44 -0500 (EST), "Shiva"
wrote:

How's fall shaping up in WV? Have you built a fire yet?

Was this intended for me? If so, no fires at our house. We leave
that to the drunken louts who pass as students in Morgantown, about 50
miles north of here.

I was just observing a large group of Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
butterflies that were feeding on fallen crabapples near my office.
I'd never seen them in such numbers before--beautiful, but feisty,
little creatures.

The rose gardens are a sorry mess--lots of fall weeding to be done.
"The Gift" was still blooming as was an un-id'ed semi-double pink
climber in my front yard.

I pay more attention to orchids cacti, and cycads these days.

J. Del Col

J. Del Col wrote:

How's fall shaping up in WV? Have you built a fire yet?

Was this intended for me?

Yes!

If so, no fires at our house. We leave
that to the drunken louts who pass as students in Morgantown, about 50
miles north of here.

You are such a professor. G I meant in your fireplace. I look forward
to when the weather is cold enough to build a fire. I like the smell of
woodsmoke and the coziness of it. It is in the 80s here now. I was
thinking it might be a bit crisper in the mountains where you are. MY idea
of heaven: anywhere in the NC/VA mountains. I like 'em green and lush,
not brown and rocky.

I was just observing a large group of Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
butterflies that were feeding on fallen crabapples near my office.
I'd never seen them in such numbers before--beautiful, but feisty,
little creatures.

You take me back to my butterfly collecting summers with my dad. I remember
the comma and weren't there other "punctuation" butterflies? The comma looked
something like the skippers we saw in Maryland.

The rose gardens are a sorry mess--lots of fall weeding to be done.
"The Gift" was still blooming as was an un-id'ed semi-double pink
climber in my front yard.

Mine too, but we have blooms. UNbelievable. They are on their own until
spring, I've had it with them this year.

I pay more attention to orchids cacti, and cycads these days.

About orchids: went to central FL last summer and saw them growing
wild, under trees. I had never seen that before.

J. Del Col

dave weil wrote:

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 12:44:44 -0500 (EST), "Shiva"
wrote:

How's fall shaping up in WV? Have you built a fire yet?

Here in Tennessee, it's hard to believe that it's post Halloween. That
holiday usually ushers in the start of pretty cold weather. It was
almost 80 on Halloween. Currently it's 82!

Here too. It sucks.

And we had a frost one
night that was actually 2 weeks ahead of schedule at the beginning of
October. What in the heck is going on? If I had known that it would
stay this warm this late, I wouldn't have stopped feeding at the end
of August.

Welcome to the whatever-we-do-with-regard-to-roses-will-be-the-wrong-thing club.