A Cold Day for a Snake

It was a cold day for a snake with the temperature barely reaching the mid-forties. Our resident slitherer, the small snake who lives in the rock wall by the ranch house, spent much of its day curled up on a south-facing stone. With loads of rain and high intermittant winds, there wasn't a whole lot of sun to soak up. Try telling that to a snake.

Can you identify the resident Sweetgrass Ranch snake? If so, please comment!

I managed to snap about four photos before this guy -- or gal -- flipped itself onto the ground and slithered into a storm drain. Interestingly, the snake used its tail to hang down into the drain, suspending the rest of its body above the water. Talk about athletic!

The chilly weather also grounded the honey bees who took lodging in the barn's north wall last Thursday. Despite the copious amounts of Bee Dun -- an herbal solution that makes bees leave the hive so a bee keeper can harvest honey -- I've injected into the wall, the bulk of the colony is still there. Fifty or so bees did leave the interior wall and are clustered outside. To my eye, they seem to be shivering -- probably my imagination.

Most insects take flight between fifty and fifty-five degrees, making the cool weather a blessing when it comes to the bovine warts we've been battling on one of our Black Angus heifers, Libbey. Flies and other biting insects are a primary vector for bovine wart virus, a virus that has been implicated in about seventy percent of equine sarcoids. So, having the insect population grounded has been a huge blessing. Best of all, Libbey's warts seem to be disappearing. YAHOO!