Just went out in the garden (6pm'ish). Its been 34C this afternoon. Trying
hard to get into our pond through the netting I have to keep out the rotten
Heron was a 1 metre long Grass snake with a fat belly. Had to cut the
netting a bit and grab it and put it in a bucket with a lid on. Took it up
the road to our local pond. Took off the lid and a skinny snake shot out
leaving behind in the bucket 3 dead frogs. Boy did it stink. Cant wash my
hands enough. Sorry Mr Snake for upsetting your digestive track.

I guess its that time of year again.

Harry

In article , Harry Rogers harryroge
writes
Just went out in the garden (6pm'ish). Its been 34C this afternoon. Trying
hard to get into our pond through the netting I have to keep out the rotten
Heron was a 1 metre long Grass snake with a fat belly. Had to cut the
netting a bit and grab it and put it in a bucket with a lid on. Took it up
the road to our local pond. Took off the lid and a skinny snake shot out
leaving behind in the bucket 3 dead frogs. Boy did it stink. Cant wash my
hands enough. Sorry Mr Snake for upsetting your digestive track.

I guess its that time of year again.

Harry


Just, 9.20pm come in from the garden where we saw a Common Toad!! and we
read this story :-((

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bringing up teenagers is like trying to nail jelly to a tree

Harry

I had this problem last year. It sounds exactly like my garden and pond!

Keeping herons out of a pond is one problem but how the blazes do you keep
out grass snakes, I would like to know?

My little 'friend' was about the same size as yours and he had many of my
best fish during several weeks of the summer. I had always believed that
they swallowed them whole, but not a bit of it. I caught him eating the best
flesh off a lovely great fish, on the garden path, one day, and found
several more similarly killed in the bushes around the pond, later.

I'm pleased to say that he hasn't appeared this summer but I am always
expecting a repeat as the river is just behind my garden.

As far as the herons are concerned I have found that two pairs of CDs
suspended just above the water appear to have completely frightened the
herons away. They look just like a pair of eyes and rotating in the
slightest breeze creates an ever changing pattern of flashing spectral
colours. (At last I have found a use for all those blasted AOL CDs they send
me!)

Eric

"Harry Rogers" wrote in message
...
Just went out in the garden (6pm'ish). Its been 34C this afternoon. Trying
hard to get into our pond through the netting I have to keep out the
rotten
Heron was a 1 metre long Grass snake with a fat belly. Had to cut the
netting a bit and grab it and put it in a bucket with a lid on. Took it up
the road to our local pond. Took off the lid and a skinny snake shot out
leaving behind in the bucket 3 dead frogs. Boy did it stink. Cant wash my
hands enough. Sorry Mr Snake for upsetting your digestive track.

I guess its that time of year again.

Harry

"Eric" wrote in message
...
Harry

I had this problem last year. It sounds exactly like my garden and pond!

Keeping herons out of a pond is one problem but how the blazes do you keep
out grass snakes, I would like to know?

My little 'friend' was about the same size as yours and he had many of my
best fish during several weeks of the summer. I had always believed that
they swallowed them whole, but not a bit of it. I caught him eating the
best
flesh off a lovely great fish, on the garden path, one day, and found
several more similarly killed in the bushes around the pond, later.

I'm pleased to say that he hasn't appeared this summer but I am always
expecting a repeat as the river is just behind my garden.

As far as the herons are concerned I have found that two pairs of CDs
suspended just above the water appear to have completely frightened the
herons away. They look just like a pair of eyes and rotating in the
slightest breeze creates an ever changing pattern of flashing spectral
colours. (At last I have found a use for all those blasted AOL CDs they
send
me!)

Eric

"Harry Rogers" wrote in message
...
Just went out in the garden (6pm'ish). Its been 34C this afternoon.
Trying
hard to get into our pond through the netting I have to keep out the
rotten
Heron was a 1 metre long Grass snake with a fat belly. Had to cut the
netting a bit and grab it and put it in a bucket with a lid on. Took it
up
the road to our local pond. Took off the lid and a skinny snake shot out
leaving behind in the bucket 3 dead frogs. Boy did it stink. Cant wash
my
hands enough. Sorry Mr Snake for upsetting your digestive track.

I guess its that time of year again.

Harry

"Eric" wrote in message
...
Harry

I had this problem last year. It sounds exactly like my garden and pond!

Keeping herons out of a pond is one problem but how the blazes do you keep
out grass snakes, I would like to know?

What's your problem? Every Tom, Dick and Harry keeps fish. Very few are
lucky enough to have a beautiful snake to keep. What about stocking your
pool with cheap fish rather than fashionably dear ones? I am sure the snake
won't mind. In due course you might be rewarded with a colony of snakes.

[snip]

[Franz Heymann]

What's your problem? Every Tom, Dick and Harry keeps fish. Very few are
lucky enough to have a beautiful snake to keep. What about stocking your
pool with cheap fish rather than fashionably dear ones? I am sure the
snake
won't mind. In due course you might be rewarded with a colony of snakes.

[snip]

[Franz Heymann]
.................................................. ...........................
.............

Don't know about Tom and Dicks fish but ours, about 60, of them are all self
breed from 4 goldfish and 4 shubumkins that we bought about 20 years ago.
They mean a lot to us and have given us much pleasure sitting by the pond
watching them dart about. So snakes are not welcome and get removed to a
much bigger pond up the road.

Harry

Well that's decided me never to have a pond! Couldn't cope with the extra
wildlife.

Aileen

"Harry Rogers" wrote in message
...
What's your problem? Every Tom, Dick and Harry keeps fish. Very few
are
lucky enough to have a beautiful snake to keep. What about stocking
your
pool with cheap fish rather than fashionably dear ones? I am sure the
snake
won't mind. In due course you might be rewarded with a colony of
snakes.

[snip]

[Franz Heymann]

.................................................. ...........................
............

Don't know about Tom and Dicks fish but ours, about 60, of them are all
self
breed from 4 goldfish and 4 shubumkins that we bought about 20 years ago.
They mean a lot to us and have given us much pleasure sitting by the pond
watching them dart about. So snakes are not welcome and get removed to a
much bigger pond up the road.

Harry

Eric wrote:

Harry

I had this problem last year. It sounds exactly like my garden and pond!

Keeping herons out of a pond is one problem but how the blazes do you keep
out grass snakes, I would like to know?

My little 'friend' was about the same size as yours and he had many of my
best fish during several weeks of the summer. I had always believed that
they swallowed them whole, but not a bit of it. I caught him eating the best
flesh off a lovely great fish, on the garden path, one day, and found
several more similarly killed in the bushes around the pond, later.

I suggest that if you actually saw the snake with a partially eaten fish,
it was eating something that had already been killed and partly eaten by
something else. You were right. Snakes swallow their food whole. They are
not capable of biting off bits. The snake is not to blame for the
dismembered fish you found.

Personally I'd rather have the snake than the fish but each to his own. I'm
glad you are merely transporting the offender rather than killing it.

Anita

"Eric" wrote:

As far as the herons are concerned I have found that two pairs of CDs
suspended just above the water appear to have completely frightened the
herons away. They look just like a pair of eyes and rotating in the
slightest breeze creates an ever changing pattern of flashing spectral
colours. (At last I have found a use for all those blasted AOL CDs they
send me!)
----
A friend who has a large pond was troubled with a heron that often dropped
in for an early breakfast. She tried putting a low wire around the
perimeter, that didn't work. When on the point of conceding defeat to the
bird, she found a life-sized, suitably painted resin grey heron. She
positioned it looking into the water from the bank and has had no further
visits from real herons. As resin heron was so lifelike, she did wonder if a
real heron might just take a fancy to him/her. Perhaps one did and found the
experience hard going!

Rusty

"
Personally I'd rather have the snake than the fish but each to his own.
I'm
glad you are merely transporting the offender rather than killing it.

Anita
.................................................. ...........................
................................

Why in the world would anyone want to kill a grass snake. They smell a bit
with their defence mechanism but they are after all quite armless.

Harry

In article , Rusty
writes

A friend who has a large pond was troubled with a heron that often dropped
in for an early breakfast. She tried putting a low wire around the
perimeter, that didn't work. When on the point of conceding defeat to the
bird, she found a life-sized, suitably painted resin grey heron. She
positioned it looking into the water from the bank and has had no further
visits from real herons. As resin heron was so lifelike, she did wonder if a
real heron might just take a fancy to him/her. Perhaps one did and found the
experience hard going!

One of the urglers did have that experience!






--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Eric wrote in message ...
Harry

I had this problem last year. It sounds exactly like my garden and
pond!

Keeping herons out of a pond is one problem but how the blazes do you
keep
out grass snakes, I would like to know?

My little 'friend' was about the same size as yours and he had many of
my
best fish during several weeks of the summer. I had always believed
that
they swallowed them whole, but not a bit of it. I caught him eating the
best
flesh off a lovely great fish, on the garden path, one day, and found
several more similarly killed in the bushes around the pond, later.

I'm pleased to say that he hasn't appeared this summer but I am always
expecting a repeat as the river is just behind my garden.

What is wrong with grass snakes, totally harmless, eat frogs, toads, and
some vermin. Why get rid of them. If I had one in my garden it would be
most welcome

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk

"....... As resin heron was so lifelike, she did wonder if a real heron
might just take a fancy to him/her. Perhaps one did and found the experience
hard going!

One of the urglers did have that experience. ...."

What ever turns you on.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

The message
from "Harry Rogers" contains these words:

Why in the world would anyone want to kill a grass snake. They smell a bit
with their defence mechanism but they are after all quite armless.

long drawn-out grone

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.

The message
from Kay Easton contains these words:

A friend who has a large pond was troubled with a heron that often dropped
in for an early breakfast. She tried putting a low wire around the
perimeter, that didn't work. When on the point of conceding defeat to the
bird, she found a life-sized, suitably painted resin grey heron. She
positioned it looking into the water from the bank and has had no further
visits from real herons. As resin heron was so lifelike, she did
wonder if a
real heron might just take a fancy to him/her. Perhaps one did and
found the
experience hard going!

One of the urglers did have that experience!

Wasn't me, miss, honest miss.

--
Rusty http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm
horrid·squeak snailything zetnet·co·uk excange d.p. with p to reply.