Animal Rescue

I went out this evening to water the plants, and discovered a huge black snake tangled up in the net I've used to keep my basil safe from chewing rodents. I tried untangling him but I think I made it worse.

So, remembering that Ken used to work in the herpetology building at the Oklahoma City Zoo, I called him outside. We looked at the poor guy--s/he was really beautiful, black with an iridescent blue sheen--and went back in for heavy work gloves and scissors. He said it was "probably a rat snake" and definitely not poisonous.

With Ken holding the snake and me cutting, we freed most of the net. There was one section tightly wrapped around the snake's body. Ken said, "If we don't get that, he'll die when he sheds his skin or tries to swallow something too big to fit through. Of course, I felt awful. I'd put the net out there and I hate to see any animal die needlessly. Plus, I like snakes.

Fortunately, Ken is brave and held the snake a good long time to allow me to snip close to the snake's body. Ken was bitten a couple of times but don't worry, Mom, we put on plenty of antibiotic. Finally, I snipped the last of the netting away. The snake sensed the total freedom and writhed harder. Ken let him go and he rapidly slithered into the nearby bushes. There seemed to be a bit of a cut around the area where the tight netting had been, so we hope no infection gets in and the snake is fine.

We came back in and sure enough, it was a rat snake (see the picture).

Visitors!

Had a lovely time with Tom Z's parents Ellie and Russ. They stopped by "my" library on their drive up to New Jersey--and surprised me while I was working on the circulation desk. (Usually I'm on the information desk but we were really short of people to do checkouts.)

We had lunch at Noodles, a cafe chain that serves, well, noodles from various cuisines (Pad Thai, udon, linguine, and so on.) Caught up on the news and just had a good time after not seeing each other for two years.

an update of our latest home and garden news

I never did mention here that most of the edamame eaten by the woodchuck (I presume; may have been the squirrels but they seem mostly to enjoy digging, not eating) actually survived. Not only survived, but even the ones I pulled up by the roots sprouted new leaves! So, after some thoughts and theories I came up with plans, which you will see the results of in the following pictures. First, though, comes my First Adventure in Masonry. Oh, and a warning for the fainthearted, there's a snake too.

Just click on the first picture...

Home & Garden July 5, 2009

Finally! DC Trip with Ralph and Family

I finally got around to uploading pictures with captions from our visit to the Natural History Museum with Ralph, Kathryne and the kids.


Just double-click on the slideshow to enlarge it and read the captions.




I hope you enjoy these!

Cymru!!

Today Ken and I went to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and, of course, focused on the Wales/Cymru section.

It was as awesome as I'd hoped. We rushed to get there in time for the Welsh male choir (can't have any kind of a Welsh cultural festival without a male choir!) This particular group, Only Men Aloud, takes the tradition and updates it with contemporary arrangements and a bit of choreography. The intent is to get younger people (both singers and audiences) interested in the tradition and to keep it going. And, of course, to make phenomenal music! We got there halfway through their first song, a traditional hymn. What a range of music they did! Hymns, traditional Welsh folk songs, "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?," "Goldfinger," and more! They finished with "Don't Rain on My Parade"

We also heard two wonderful Welsh harpists playing on the traditional harp, which has three rows of strings. As one of the musicians said, "fiendishly difficult and complex, just like me." I leaned toward Ken and said, "like all Welshmen." So beautiful. The woman--Sian, I think her first name was, had a lovely soprano voice and sang some traditional folk songs as she played. Mostly about being unlucky in love (probably The Most Common Traditional-Song Theme) but there was a fun one about counting goats.

For lunch we each had a delicious bowl of cawl--lamb and vegetable stew that included leeks, the Welsh national vegetable. Ken also had the fantastic Welsh beer (he can't remember the name, how sad!)

Then we browsed the Welsh traditions tents: language, pottery, textiles (some beautifully woven wool blankets and lovely quilts), stonework (we watched a man chisel calligraphy-style letters in slate) and other crafts. Ken talked with a genealogist about his Grandpa Chandler, and we found his birth record and his ship manifest for his emigration to Canada online.

We bought ourselves good wool socks--made by Corgi, "by royal appointment to the Prince of Wales." Princes William and Edward wear their colorful socks (I got taupe ones with teal-green polka dots; Ken got black with teal heel, toe and top-trim)

A wonderful, wonderful day, and a great time to enjoy an ethnic heritage we share, thanks to Dad Jenkins and Mom Chandler!