Mama's Ramblings

You may be wondering what is in this box...well, we had a little visitor over the last few days. Our nanny has been avoiding the basement, I wouldn't even let Chase near the stairs!!




CHECK IT OUT...THIS IS WHAT JEREMY BROUGHT UP FROM THE BASEMENT!!








ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!? I HATE SNAKES!! I have bad memories about when I was really little and our back yard was FULL of little snakes and my dad was pitching them over the fence to get them all out of our yard.

SO SCARY...

This is the snake we think the little guy is. Nothing major, but the snake has a bunch of energy and keeps striking. We were a bit concerned, because Jeremy found him in the closet where Chase plays all the time. The snake was about half way up our vacuum cleaner next to where Chase's head was when he played in there. Thankfully, nothing dangerous would come of a bite.

Eastern Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

Of the five kinds of garter snakes in Missouri, the eastern garter snake is the most common. Color is variable; it may be dark brown, greenish or olive, and normally there are three yellowish stripes—one on the back and one on each side. Dark areas between the light stripes may be spots instead of stripes. The skin between scales along the sides may be red or orange. The belly is usually yellowish-green with two indistinct rows of black spots. Length ranges from 18 to 26 inches (46-66 cm). Garter snakes often are found under boards, rocks or other objects in the city lots, near farm buildings, in meadows or along streams. Like many kinds of harmless snakes, garter snakes will bite to defend themselves. Food consists of earthworms, frogs, toads, salamanders, minnows and even small mice.

Missouri Distribution: Occurs throughout the eastern half of the state. The red-sided garter snake (see inset)— a subspecies—lives in the western half of Missouri.