Mildred came back last night and took almost every pea pod and most of the tops, but there is still new growth, so I'm leaving the peas. She hit a few ornamentals and fruits, too. I planted a culinary sage by one flower she was eating, so she just yanked out another of the same variety, and she finally found the nine bark, too. She was in the front garden this morning, still in the grasses, and I went out with a dog on leash. The dog couldn't see her because she stood still (dumb dogs) and wouldn't chase her at all. She stayed until I was within 2 feet, then took off, but not in a panic, as if a dog had been after her. I'll get her yet.
But the good news was the visitor(s) in the veggie patch today. There were actually two sets.
First was a baby hummingbird who perched on a trellis and watched the world for some time. Parents were nearby and in and out of the scarlet runners. Baby could fly but just stayed there most of the time, high enough to be safe from my second new tenant.
The other welcome guest was a 4-6 foot long snake who is now living in and around the vegetable patch. When he noticed me, he slithered into the tangled mass at the bottom of one of my invasive clematis bushes. What a lovely thing, all brown and black and big enough around to swallow a vole, but no doubt enjoying a healthy diet consisting mostly of grasshoppers. The wrens were scolding all morning, as they too were hunting in the veggie patch. They will just have to fly over to the choke cherries or the nanking (stay off the gooseberry, please, Mildred has done enough damage there.)
Missing my outdoor cats (as I sit with kittens climbing up and down my legs), its great to know that the snakes are back.
Maggie
