07/27/2012

I was sure it was going to rain overnight and this morning, so I slept in. Turns out I probably could have gotten some work done, had I got up early. I never know whether to go ahead and get up early, and risk not being able to go out, or take the opportunity to sleep in, and risk missing out on some good weather to work in. In hindsight I should have gotten up this morning.

I didn't go out and work this evening either. Andrea had been gone part of the day, and will be gone again tomorrow, so I decided to stay in and spend some time with her. She's taking some workshops through Berea's Festival of Learnshops event. Today she attended Introduction to Herbal Preparations: Lotions, Tinctures, and Infusions. Tomorrow is Make and Take Market Basket. This is her second year participating in the Festival of Leanshops. I've yet to take any of the workshops, but plan to make it a point to find one I'm interested in next year.

I hope to get out tomorrow and accomplish quite a bit. My Dad may be coming down, and so he'll probably help me on some project if its not too hot. I've not yet decided what to work on, but I have plenty to choose from so I'm sure we'll find something.

The only other thing that happened today that was noteworthy is that I saw a snake. I had taken some kitchen scraps out to the compost bin, and was digging down into the top layer of dried grass and weeds, so I could bury the scraps. That's something I've only recently been trying, but I think it'll work better than just laying the scraps on top. Anyway, as I dug down I saw a small snake, which I thought could have been dead, until it finally moved while I was looking for a stick to poke around with to see if it was alive. After referencing the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife pamphlet on Kentucky Snakes, which I find myself using fairly often, I think it was most likely a worm snake. When I first read the description of the copperhead, I thought it could have been that as it mentions that some may have a reddish brown (copper-red) coloration, but this snake did not have the crossbands that copperheads have. Once I read the description of the worm snake, though, I was fairly convinced that I had found a match, based on the coloration, size, and even diet, since it is specifically mentioned that these snakes feed on earthworms, which would be common in a compost bin. I really haven't seen very many snakes since we moved here. I've seen 5 or 6 this year, two of which were in the compost bin. I don't mind snakes at all, as long as I can identify them as non-venomous. I dread the day that I run across a copperhead, or even worse, rattle snake, especially if its in a situation where I may have to kill it because its creating a dangerous situation for myself or the animals.