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Snakes

While we were in Canada, we encountered a snake on the trail; a rare sight, since in that part of Alberta, there is only one endemic snake: the Terrestrial Garter Snake. It was perfectly still. We were speculating about whether it was alive or not when Judy surprised me and pulled it by the tail; which surprised the snake, and it moved off into the grass alongside the trail. Last weekend at Pawnee Grasslands we encountered another snake; this one on the road.

I think it’s a Bullsnake. Judy the Snake Wrangler surprised me again; this time by grabbing the snake by the tail and flinging it off to the side of the road. (I wish I had known she was going to do that. I’d have switched to video mode.)

Judy was protecting the snake from getting run over. The snake didn’t appreciate the effort, gave a great hiss, and crawled right back onto the road.

Judy declined to repeat the effort for the video cam. (It would have been a great shrieking hissing clip.)

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I get a new cellphone

  Not because it was time for a new cellphone.  The old cellphone was only a couple months old and was perfectly fine until it drowned.  It was riding along in my pocket then it just suddenly drowned.   Coincidentally, it drowned at precisely the moment I decided to step into the kayak.  The kayak was floating in the shallow water just a little offshore in the pond.  I didn’t want to get my foot wet, so instead of stepping closer to the boat, I just took one big step from the dry land to the kayak.  As one grandkid put it, I tried not to get my foot wet and ended up getting my hat wet.  A full-body dunk.   The new dry cellphone arrives tomorrow.    
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Prairie

A day trip out onto the eastern plains. As Saturday hike to Pawnee Buttes, from the overlook at the point of the first picture, across the escarpment on the right, and on to the buttes in the distance.

It was a good day for spotting birds of prey: Northern Harrier, Swainson’s Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon. Lots of other prairie birds: doves, shrikes, larks, buntings, sparrows, and longspurs. Swarms of them.