Books by the old Leather Chair

  • Snow In The Summer
  • My Bible
  • The Power of Silence
  • What Comes Next and to Like It
  • Encore Provence
  • A Year in Provence

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Trespasser I Am

I moved part time into this woods home 2 years in July. Brought all of my belongings before the holidays 2 years ago this fall. It was a dream of many years and seems I have lived here forever.

All has seemed so quiet. An occasional visitor from the woods which thrilled me. Every time I saw a wild turkey, deer, frogs, toads, birds, butterflies, all my emerging plants and all the other visitors I met with my camera. I truly felt I had been given a gift.

The critter who has been digging under the concrete air conditioning pad may have been caught.

A possum found in the trap over the weekend. Holes have been filled and trap reset and will see
if anything else makes a visit

Two recent visitors have really unnerved this one woman. A skunk and Callie chased it away.

An hour ago I looked out on the deck and their was a 10 foot long snake basking in the sun.

Called 3 neighbors and no one answered their phone on this 90 degree afternoon.

A call to the young man who cut down my tree and I was in luck - he arrived within minutes.

A chicken snake.
I am familiar with them
They were at the old farm house and I am aware that they are a good snake.
But it has been a long time
since I saw one this long
I was fearful it might be something else

Brad took it further into the woods...

The last few days after all the rain and now very hot it seems I am having a lot of visitors.

Ants and carpenter bee's - do not like.
Also now that all the wildlife is getting use to me
the birds do not fly away
toads and frogs do not get out of my way
several ticks spotted and like to crawl on me
Guess this is why the snake was sunning on the deck.

So I have the thoughts - I love it here so much

Does One Woman in the last years of her life belong at the edge of hundreds of acres of woods?

But guess even in some sterile surroundings
there will be critters...

Hey some of them might be unwanted human critters.

9 comments:

Beverly said...

With the floods here in Memphis, we are having lots of critters....I only want invited critters, and that would mean none, except for my Shelby...well and birds! I have carpenter bees and they leave sawdust all over the porch...

teri said...

I sit in my little space... in the middle of a small town. And just now from the window comes in the smell of skunk. But I have not seen a 10 foot snake. As always enjoy your writing.

Balisha said...

Hi Ernestine...I am prepared for snakes in my garden.Ours are not so big...maybe 4 ft. long. I have to watch when I'm tending the garden by the drive. They come out and lie in the sun on hot days. They have startled me more than once.
It was in the 90's here yesterday and will be again today. I am up early and I'm going out to get some gardening done, before I wilt. Have a nice day...Balisha

MsGraysea said...

Oh, my, you are in critter kingdom, aren't you? Although, I am not afraid of them, a large snake like that one would unnerve me, too. So nice of your neighbor to come to the rescue.
We've had a major ant invasion and tried many ways to deter them but none is working. My brother says baby powder along the baseboards works for him but that is pretty messy. We had tried borax but that did not work.
Hate to use chemical sprays but that may be next.
Interesting that your invader was a possum. Thought it would be a woodchuck (groundhog).
May you have some lovely cooling breezes on your porch!

the wild magnolia said...

You heart, spirit and soul, are in the edge of these woods. The chicken snake felt welcome and safe to sun himself.

Only you will know if you should move back to the city at some time in the future.

Meanwhile I love my visits to your life at the edge of the woods!

Glad you are catching the intrusive critters.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Beverly, teri, Balisha and Marcia,
thanks for visiting.
maybe the critter has been caught.
no new digging...
oh, maybe the snake was 8 ft :)

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Sandra, you know me well. My heart, soul and spirit does reside in these woods.
I know I am at peace and guess that says it all.
Once in while I do wonder if there will be another lifestyle?
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words.
You are a brave one....

Folkways Note Book said...

i have moved to this place of spiders, ticks skunks, snakes etc within the last few years. Woods surround me and I love it. How wonderful that in our older age we experience this delight (and fright sometimes). Not saying I will always live here but for now the peace and silence in invaluable. I am sure you feel much the same way after reading your post -- barbara

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Beverly, teri,Balisha, Marcia, thanks for visiting.
Barbara, thank you for commenting - we have a lot in common...