Anne and I are deck people. We have had a deck for most of the last three decades, and during good weather we spend a lot of time on it. At the end of the day, we relax with a drink, often have supper, and do a lot of entertaining there.

Basically, the deck is our outside room. Adjacent to the deck is The Dead Tree. It stands there like a totem, very sculptural in its appearance. It’s a favored perch for birds and Rocky, the Demon Squirrel. I usually see the Effing Chipmunk running from the strawberry patch towards it. I’ve photographed The Tree dozens of times under many different conditions.

A couple of evenings ago, I noticed something kind of odd. Little Wayne was half-way up the tree. Now I know black rat snakes go pretty much anywhere they damn well please, but I’ve never seen one climb a dead tree before. And this one was not only up the tree, he was disappearing inside the tree.

Obviously I know squat about Black Snakes, so I did a little more research and found that not only do they climb trees, they spend a lot of time in trees. Much of their diet is derived from the various creatures that inhabit trees. Now I wonder what LW was going after. I’m sure there are plenty of insects, and I guess it’s possible mice are nesting there. The birds that nested in The Tree this spring are gone. There is a chance that Little Wayne may have been going after the Effing Chipmunk.

If that was the case, all I can say is “ROCK ON YOU WEIRD LITTLE DUDE!”

DOUBLE-WIDES

The above were taken in less than 15 minutes at the local Wal-Mart. There are 7 more I could have included. Chips and Ho-Hos anyone?

]]> http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/07/14/single-wides-and-double-wides/feed/ 4 http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/07/09/butterflies-and-maiden-flies/ http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/07/09/butterflies-and-maiden-flies/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:09:07 +0000 Ron Dees http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/?p=2052

Terry

suzanne

John

debi

Connor

George the Groundhog

George has been here about as long as we have. He has an entrance to his burrow under the remains of an old chicken coop. I usually see George early in the morning munching away on dandelions and clover in the side yard near the bamboo grove. Anne is particularly fond of George because she has less work to do as a result of his fondness for weeds.

Bozo the Side Yard Rabbit

Bozo likes the dandelions and clover all most as much as George. Bozo is pretty skittish though. He goes into his “rabbit freeze” stance at the first sound of anyone stirring in the kitchen. A second sound sends him hauling his little bunny ass back up the ridge to his burrow.

DeWayne the Black Snake and his buddy

Little Wayne

For a long time we thought we only had one snake who moved around a lot. A couple of weeks ago though, we came home around 4 pm and found DeWayne on the deck in back and Little Wayne on the front porch. Both of them spend time in the attic feeding on whatever they find there….birds, mice, insects. Periodically, one of them will climb down the front wall and scare the shit out of anyone nearby. Black Snakes are good to have around as long as you don’t mess with them. I’m told that their bite quote, “hurts like a sumbitch,” unquote.

The Damn Deer

These are two of the four deer who winter with us. In fact, these two were born on the ridge and tried to climb up the front steps when they were fawns. They spent most of the winter about 20 feet from the back door. They also spent most of the winter pruning a lot of our decorative evergreens. During most of the warm weather, they fade back up the ridge. During hunting season, I think they go to Florida.

There is also Rocky, the Demon Squirrel, and That Effing Chipmunk. Both of them have eluded the camera so far. If they don’t leave the strawberries alone, they’re gonna have to evade a fusillade from a .22 rifle. Anyone for squirrel gravy ?

There was great food, fine wine, and happy faces all round.

The party lasted ’til sundown. If you weren’t there, you missed a really good time. Here’s the party in pictures:

daylily

peony

daisy

moon flower

fiirestick

columbine

stella d'oro daylily

rose

dandelion

dandelion

clover

blackberry

iris