Like most gardeners, we get surprised or startled from time to time when working out in the garden. Most of the time the creatures are unexpected and harmless, except for nearly giving us a heart attack!
Well, this morning I had two surprises. One startled the daylights out of me and the other caught me totally by surprise!
I have a mailbox on a post in my backyard that I keep some of my hand tools and small garden supplies in. I also keep 2 hand trowels to scoop up dog poo, since I have 2 dogs who do their business out in my fenced backyard several times a day. (They are indoor dogs.)
I have been doing the doggie poo pickup for years using the trowels (that I keep in the mailbox). This morning when I opened up my mailbox, I was startled by a snake. Looks like a black racer curled around the things inside the mailbox. This snake was probably 2 -3 ft. long. The snake quickly slithered to the back of the mailbox. I don't know who was more startled - the snake or me, but I let out a short and loud scream. The snake tried to hide. I am not that scared of snakes. My daughter had 2 pet corn snakes when she was young which I helped take care of. But the thought of getting attacked by a frightened and defensive snake is what scares me. I've been bitten before and it does indeed hurt.
I had a snake (perhaps the same snake) hiding in my mailbox this past December when we had a cold night. The mailbox was probably warm and offered shelter for the snake. I don't know how it is getting into the mailbox. I keep a clip on the front connection to prevent it from opening. But one of the screws that holds the mailbox door open is missing, though it is still a very tight fit. I use the clip to keep it tightly closed. So I have been a little cautious opening the mailbox door ever since. But haven't had a snake hiding in there since until today.
Here is a photo I took this morning after I got over my startle. You can see him at the back of the mailbox trying to hide in all the now messy garden items. (I tried to scare him out by pushing all the items towards the back of the mailbox. Didn't work, so I have left him alone with the mailbox door open hoping he will leave on his own accord.)
The second surprise came shortly afterwards. I was walking to the side of my house to turn on the water facet to put fresh water in the backyard bird feeder. I felt something stick to the back of my leg. It didn't feel like it was moving so I ignored it for a few seconds without looking. I was thinking it was one of the plumbago hedges seed pods that often stick to my clothes and body. But it bothered me as I was walking, so I lifted my leg to brush it off the back of my calf. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see something much larger than a seed pod hit the ground. Another brief startle. I was shocked to see a female Monarch butterfly. She must have recently emerged from her chrysalis and for some reason flew onto my leg. So of course I picked her up and took her back to the backyard to place her on a bush to continue to strengthen to fly off. I did not get a photo of her before she eventually flew away.
