Of course being the nature lovers and homeschoolers that we are, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to identify our guest. We think he/she is a juvenile, almost adult, rat snake. According to the description, they can grow to over 6 feet long and love, as their name implies, to dine on rodent. They are slow moving and when frightened will freeze often taking on a rippled posture. We also read that neonate Black Rat Snakes are the most frequently found snakes entering homes, usually in the early Fall or Spring. It has been so unbelievably HOT here for the last month that even I am willing to embrace this as a sign of Autumn - Come on in and make yourself comfortable!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
A Sign of Autumn?
Our black lab, Thor, barks a lot. It is a character flaw that we have become pretty good at ignoring. His barking is mainly due to a misunderstanding, on his part, of property lines. He seems to think he owns our road and barks anytime any of the neighbors have the audacity to drive down the road we all share. One sure way to know that his barking requires our attention is when he is not only barking but running through the house frantically. Today, while we were getting lunch together, he began barking and running back and forth between the kitchen and the front door. I figured it was our mail lady delivering a package. I checked the drive but it was empty. We all went back to preparing lunch. Only Thor was not satisfied with the cursory attention we had given to his attempt to communicate something really important to us and would not settle down. I finally asked Mr. Garvey to check the front door to see if anyone was there. He came running back saying, "Hurry. Hurry. Come and see." Here's a picture of who we found at our front door just waiting for us to open up and let him in.
Of course being the nature lovers and homeschoolers that we are, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to identify our guest. We think he/she is a juvenile, almost adult, rat snake. According to the description, they can grow to over 6 feet long and love, as their name implies, to dine on rodent. They are slow moving and when frightened will freeze often taking on a rippled posture. We also read that neonate Black Rat Snakes are the most frequently found snakes entering homes, usually in the early Fall or Spring. It has been so unbelievably HOT here for the last month that even I am willing to embrace this as a sign of Autumn - Come on in and make yourself comfortable!
Of course being the nature lovers and homeschoolers that we are, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to identify our guest. We think he/she is a juvenile, almost adult, rat snake. According to the description, they can grow to over 6 feet long and love, as their name implies, to dine on rodent. They are slow moving and when frightened will freeze often taking on a rippled posture. We also read that neonate Black Rat Snakes are the most frequently found snakes entering homes, usually in the early Fall or Spring. It has been so unbelievably HOT here for the last month that even I am willing to embrace this as a sign of Autumn - Come on in and make yourself comfortable!
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2 comments:
Wow, cool snake!
BTW, Okra finally showed up at the farmer's market this week, so I tried the recipe you posted. I made the southwest marinade. If you ever try that one, do NOT grill it indoors! We had strong storms (tornadoes!) this afternoon, so I used our cast iron grill pan on the stove. Oils from the chipotle pepper became airborne, wafting through the kitchen causing choking and coughing for anyone who came too close! (I put some pan lids over it and set up a fan to blow the air out the kitchen door.)
The resulting okra was pretty good, but too spicy-hot for the kids. I liked it, but with my pregnancy heartburn, I did not dare to eat more than a couple of pieces. DH ate some, but he's used to the slimy cooked okra, which he apparently prefers. :oP In the end after dinner, I rinsed off the marinade, chopped up the okra and cooked it down for him. The pleasant lingering smoky southwest aroma of it makes me think I might have to try it in spite of the slimy texture.
I'd like to try it once more with one of the other marinades. I think my daughter might like the Mediterranean version -- her only complaint tonight was the spiciness. She's not a fan of Indian flavorings, though I think that one sounds delicious.
Stephanie
I never thought about the chipotle pepper oils smoking up inside of your house. We grilled ours indoors but the indian version was not spicy so we never had that issue. Thanks for the warning. I think I'll learn from your experience rather than the hard way.:)
I bet the chopped up and cooked down version with the hint of marinade flavoring was good even despite the slime factor.
Okra down here has past its peak and is unfortunately quite stringy. Now I get to anticipate and salivate thinking over next year's harvest while trying to find a new vegetable to obsess over.
Kimberly
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