Still As Life

We had visitors over this evening for dad's birthday (he's 45 now), and logically, as happens with such a cool plant, the bat plant came up in conversation so off we went to show it in flower. Being dark and all meant it was an interesting mission down to the back garden through multiple spider webs to find it.

I grabbed some more photo's while we were down there as the second flower is open now. The third one isn't out yet, but it should be soon. Sadly I will probably be back up in Brisbane when it does come out, but that's alright.

For whatever reason, I'm not entirely sure anymore, a conversation came up about snakes during the night. Now as we were seeing off our guests, mum yells out that there is a snake, and we all (or me anyway) think she is joking, given the recent talk about all the snakes, and I couldn't see one in the direction she was looking. Lo and behold though, there is this sizable carpet snake sitting up on the drainpipe.

When I say sizable, I mean, reasonable, compared to some of the carpet snakes we've had here, this one is tiny. As far as I know, this is the first snake that we've seen around here in a while as well, so it was quite a surprise to see one at all, especially so close to the house that it was almost in it.

It ended up finding its way up over the gutter and going down the drainpipe which would take it down to the back of the house where it could get out again. I guess with all the wet lately, the frogs are out and about and would make a perfect meal for a growing young carpet snake like this one.

Whenever I see carpet snakes, I can't help but think of the gigantic one we had down the backyard once. It was easily long enough to get close to going from one side of a road to the other, and thick enough to eat a small dog without making much of a lump. Luckily they are non venomous or it would make such big ones all the more frightening to behold.

Labels: special interest