A Busy Little Forest

The Rufous Hummingbird returned on April 29th.  Year after year, their arrival time never varies, always at the end of April, just like clockwork.

    On the same day, the garter snakes left their den and have been warming themselves in the sun ever since.

 

A Red-breasted Sapsucker found this fence post very interesting.  This is the first time I've seen this species up close.

 

A Robin pair, recently arrived, were spotted gathering nesting material this morning.

Garter Snakes on a Warm, Sunny Afternoon

I've been checking every day now for the past week to see if any of the garter snakes had emerged from their winter den.  This afternoon when I was out walking around, there were two on the grass warming themselves in the bright sunshine.

It's Spring and the forest has come alive again

 Merlin, recently arrived

 Snowshoe Hare is getting a new summer coat

 Garter Snakes have left their winter den

 The Rufous Hummingbird has returned from his southern range

A warbler alights on a Saskatoon bush

Today's temperature is 9°C, with sunshine and a cool wind.

Garter Snakes

basking in the sun at the base of a Birch tree

Garter Snakes

How do the garter snakes know when is the best day to come out of their den in the spring?  They seem to have it timed just right.  I noticed the garter snakes on Monday afternoon slithering through the dead grass and leaves.  They have been in their den on the hillside for about six and a half months.  Somehow they knew that the weather was going to change and become much warmer.  The high yesterday was 12°C.

  

Garter Snake

My husband came in from cutting wood

to tell me that he saw a garter snake

at the base of a birch tree, and

did I want to take a picture?

(please click on image for better viewing)

Earth

Basking in the Sun

Garter Snakes
Their "notice sudden is" *

* from Snake by Emily Dickinson

Out of Hibernation

For the past week I have been checking this birch tree to see if the garter snakes have come out of hibernation. Today I saw the first one warming itself on the trunk. It is their usual and favourite springtime spot. Their den must be fairly close, although I have never seen it. This particular tree is also perfectly situated for catching the benefits of the strong afternoon sun, and just look how well the snake blends in with its surroundings.

Garter Snake

I don't often see the garter snakes in the summer, but two weeks ago I almost tripped over one sunning itself on the grassy path. They are not harmful to humans, and I think they look beautiful.

Snakes symbolize cycles, rebirth, patience, fertility, eternity, balance, cunning, intuition, awareness, healing, protection, solemnity, rejuvenation and also transformation.

ABC Wednesday

Red-sided Garter Snake

The other day I went rummaging through the odds and ends cupboard to retrieve my stack of National Geographic magazines that I had marked "Keep" when we decided to donate the bulk of them to the local hospital auxiliary several years ago. I was looking for the one that had the article on Manitoba's Red-Sided Garter Snakes Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, a subspecies of the common garter snake. The article: Manitoba's Fantastic Snake Pits by zoologist, Michael Aleksiuk, Ph.D., November 1975. The picture is of a monument in Inwood, Manitoba.

I grew up in Winnipeg. I didn't see these snake pits until I had children of my own and we visited my parents who had retired in the same region. However, we were never there at the right time, either in the spring or the fall. When I saw them, it was during our children's school holidays, and I remember looking down into a pit and seeing one or two.

These limestone sinks, located 97km (60 miles) north of Winnipeg, near Narcisse, Manitoba are quite big, some measuring 4.5 metres (15 feet) across and 3 metres (10 feet) deep. In the winter they provide shelter for tens of thousands of garter snakes which have moved "underground beneath the rubble" by late October. In the spring, after mating, these harmless snakes "disperse for the summer to outlying marshes (where there are plenty of frogs) as far as 16km (10 miles) away." In the fall they return to their dens.

There's one wonderful picture in the article that I really like. It's of a smiling woman in Inwood, Manitoba (the snakes migrate through this small town twice yearly) who is preparing the evening meal with "George" the garter snake beside her checking out the food. It doesn't say how he got into the house, but there he is, "a regular visitor".

I also like what she said at the time, "They were here many years before us, and we have to respect them." Those words are as true today as they were thirty-three years ago.

Update - After severe winter weather in 1999 killed thousands of garter snakes before they were able to get back to the limestone pits, efforts were made to save these snakes from being further decimated. During migration they cross a highway, and in the past, many have been killed annually by passing vehicles. Now, thanks in part, to Manitoba Hydro and volunteers, there are foot high fences installed along the highway to try and encourage the snakes to use 13 cm (5 inch) tunnels under the road. This has resulted in far less fatalities. The Snakes of Narcisse Wildlife Management Area

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The photo below is one I took last Saturday when I discovered this lone Red-sided Garter Snake on my front lawn. Usually they keep to the back of the house near a birch tree and in the long grass there just at the edge of the hill.

I think I will call this garter snake
"Beauty"

More on the Common Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

I forgot to look down as I walked across the grass to where the garter snakes usually are and almost trod on one. He would have slithered away before that happened, I'm sure.

This garter snake was found in another part of the yard altogether, near the bird feeders, well away from the other ones.

Suddenly I am seeing differently and constantly correcting myself now that the garter snakes have come out of hibernation and into the open. We don't have that many here, but, sometimes what appears to be a small branch lying on the ground on closer inspection is actually a garter snake. The reverse is true as well. More than once I've mistaken a twig for a garter snake.

This last picture really shows their beautiful way of being in the natural world. This birch tree is one of their favourite spots, and most days I am certain to find one or two garter snakes arranged along its length soaking up the afternoon sun. Please do enlarge the picture to see their heads better. I was trying to get their whole bodies in with all the loops and curves.

Are these two garter snakes in love?

I don't know, but they sure
make a compatible looking pair.

Notes on Garter Snakes:

1. They give birth to live young in late summer.
2. There are between 20 and 40 babies per litter.
3. Their diet consists of earthworms, frogs, and mice.
4. They are not poisonous and will only attempt to bite if they are picked up.

Gardening and Garter Snakes

It was a lovely warm day yesterday. Temperature: 17C by the afternoon. I worked in the garden and visited the garter snakes. This fellow was by himself the first time, but when I checked again later, there were two snakes sunning themselves on the birch tree that leans out over the hill. This morning it is 8C and raining.

D. H. Lawrence wrote a wonderful poem about a snake when he was living in Taormina, Sicily. It is full of emotion as he describes meeting the snake on a hot July day when he goes out for some water "and must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me". He goes on to tell how the snake "rested his throat upon the stone bottom, And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness, He sipped with his straight mouth, Softly drank....Silently". The poet feels he should have killed the snake because he was the venomous kind, but he admits to actually liking him, "How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless". There are so many beautiful lines in this poem, and it is worth reading and thinking over. The poem can be read in its entirety at the Representative Poetry Online Library (University of Toronto)

Snake by Herbert David Lawrence (1885-1930)
(Birds, Beasts and Flowers: Poems 1923)

At Home

What a gorgeous day it has been! There was a bit of a breeze blowing, but it was very warm in the sun.

I like the mornings best. The birds are active in the trees and shrubs and on the ground - twittering, peeping and singing their songs. It's a nice time to be outdoors. I took all the bird pictures between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. (please click on pictures to enlarge)

Resident Crow in spruce tree.

A very fine, intelligent bird.

So nice to have the Robin

back in the neighbourhood. Caroling.
The Dark-eyed Junco is welcome

in my garden anytime. This picture
shows some of the Junco's white outer tail
feathers. Musical trill.


White-crowned Sparrow
Those black and white stripes
really stand out. Pretty whistling notes.

This tangled looking willow is a
popular perching spot for
many of the songbirds.
It's without leaves right now, but
the birds aren't concerned.

Later, in the afternoon, I was in my garden weeding one of the raised beds when I realized my dog wasn't anywhere around. She had found the snakes on the other side of the house and was sitting at the edge of the hill just watching, fascinated by them.

These are the first garter snakes I've seen this year.

I know many people have an aversion to snakes. At one time I did too, but I've gotten used to these harmless garter snakes being here. I see them more in the spring than at any other time - they like to come out of hiding to be in the sun. I'll take more pictures and do another post entirely on the timid garter snakes.

Enjoy your weekend! I'll be out in the kitchen garden singing my own song.

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