Mutual of Frickin' Omaha
Sep. 23rd, 2010 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aelfieneeds to camp out in our house.
First, it was the lizard...then a frog. Today? A baby snake in the garage.
What is up with the wildlife???
We came in through the garage after running an errand and I spotted this baby snake on the floor along the walkway. I got all the kids in, all the stuff in, grabbed my longest set of tongs and found a bucket. Now, I like snakes. I know how to pick them up. I plan on having another as a pet someday. But I didn't know if this was a constrictor or not and I was sure how it would behave. Better to be safe than sorry right? So I scooped up that little black snake with the tongs, tossed him in the bucket. Then announced "Hey! Guys! Come look at this snake I caught in the garage!" We "oooo'd" and we "ahhh'd". Ike got the camera and we took a picture. We then set him free in the rosebushes. Over the protestations of the children. They wanted to keep it. The fact that we don't have a tank I think is the only reason why I won that particular argument.
Then we went to the reference books to see what kind of snake it was. We were able to ID it as a California Racer Snake. It took an online search to determine if it was poisonous or not. Not. However it was noted that when threatened or handled they strike often and viciously. Glad I got the tongs.
Bonus? Ike spent the next 45 minutes pouring over the various field reference guides looking at pictures and asking me to read him information. Cool! Gotta love those informal lessons. Now that's a picture perfect homeschooling minute.
First, it was the lizard...then a frog. Today? A baby snake in the garage.
What is up with the wildlife???
We came in through the garage after running an errand and I spotted this baby snake on the floor along the walkway. I got all the kids in, all the stuff in, grabbed my longest set of tongs and found a bucket. Now, I like snakes. I know how to pick them up. I plan on having another as a pet someday. But I didn't know if this was a constrictor or not and I was sure how it would behave. Better to be safe than sorry right? So I scooped up that little black snake with the tongs, tossed him in the bucket. Then announced "Hey! Guys! Come look at this snake I caught in the garage!" We "oooo'd" and we "ahhh'd". Ike got the camera and we took a picture. We then set him free in the rosebushes. Over the protestations of the children. They wanted to keep it. The fact that we don't have a tank I think is the only reason why I won that particular argument.
Then we went to the reference books to see what kind of snake it was. We were able to ID it as a California Racer Snake. It took an online search to determine if it was poisonous or not. Not. However it was noted that when threatened or handled they strike often and viciously. Glad I got the tongs.
Bonus? Ike spent the next 45 minutes pouring over the various field reference guides looking at pictures and asking me to read him information. Cool! Gotta love those informal lessons. Now that's a picture perfect homeschooling minute.