A Visitor Arrives

When I got home from work a couple of days ago, I was standing at the kitchen sink washing my hands to fix dinner.  I have a nice window there that looks to the backyard and the desert beyond.  Looking out at nature makes chores more pleasant.

 This was the only way to get his length from the window

 

I spotted our visitor right away and grabbed the camera.  Hubby was oblivious until I said, “Look what’s drinking out of the water dish?”  He was lying on the couch watching politics.

I proceeded outside after the snake slithered off across the grass.  There was a lizard on the rock wall that surrounds the top level of our yard and I think he had his eye on that for dinner.  I got this shot of him/or her on the rocks. 

Once he saw me he slithered down to this hidey-hole.  I had to come in and fix dinner so I’m not sure how long he stayed there.  The lizard escaped, as far as know.  The snake was probably annoyed with me for interfering with his meal.

I don’t know what kind of snake this is.  Someone told me last year this type of snake was a red racer, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.  Apparently, they’re common in this part of the desert and are harmless.  We started seeing this type of snake a couple of years ago, always drinking from the water bowl and then slithering off into the desert again.  I suspect he’s always come and we just weren’t looking.

I always leave water pans around in the yard for any critter that happens by so they can find water.  It’s in short supply in the desert.  However, we've had rain lately and things are gorgeous.

Happy Mother’s Day