"OMG"

So I have been told over and over that "the only good snake is a dead snake" and that "garter snakes won't hurt you - they are good to have around". Well guess what - here is my belief - the only "good" snake is the snake that is somewhere other than where I am!!!!!

The excitement at our house this weekend was the girls ringing the front doorbell non stop - me opening the door to Kaitlin screaming and Macie explaining non stop (very loudly) that "there is a snake in front of our garage and it is not a "gardner" snake." Of course I first yell at Brad and make him go out first - I was not expecting the snake we saw - check out the pictures...

I shared the pictures with one of our science instructors and this is what I learned: "That is a western garter snake. That is a nice size one. They eat insects, frogs, toads, lizards, and even some fish. They are harmless to humans. Usually they will escape and evade humans. If you back one into a corner it will strike. They have real small teeth, and eat everything alive, usually head first. They are starting to try and find a place to hang out for winter. They usually hang out in a group in the winter in some kind of a hole. Sometimes you will find a big group of them together. No danger to you or the young one's."

It is nice to know they are not a danger to us - especially the girls but the hanging out in a group thing does not make me feel any better. And I can say it will strike because when Brad was trying to move it so he could "dispose of it" the snake did strike at Brad several times. Again - not my idea of fun.