Varmints

My sewing space is in the basement. Right now it is a mess. 

We decided that laminate flooring will be the best and later today I am meeting Steven at Lumbers Liquidators to select the flooring.  I would love cork. I think I would love the extra dollars more. It appears that I will be subsidizing someone's jet in the near future.  F^ck that. 

  

Anyway, when I was here for Thanksgiving two weeks ago, I unpacked a few boxes.  One had the little drawers that fit my small stuff organizer.  You know the one, it's metal, has little plastic drawers and some people put nuts, screws, bolts in those little drawers.  I put sewing machine parts in mine.

I had taped the larger drawers in place. I removed the tape and noticed what looked like a piece of wood stove rope gasket stuck on the cabinet.  I had no idea how that got there.  I pulled it off and then screeched. 

This poor, little baby garter snake had crawled under the tape, likely looking for food. It died there. 

Stuck. 

 This makes #5.  Three were living.  Steven reassures me that we won't have a problem in the spring and summer. He is sure that the snakes live in the bilco and the babies make their way into the basement.  The adults are too big to fit through whatever crack or crevice the babies find. Certainly we have not found a nest. Garter snakes birth their young live.  I believe he is right.  I am absolutely finished with snake surprises.  All the same, as varmints go, garter snakes are better than mice. 

There are few things I miss from the old place.  The daily walk is one.  We would trudge up the hill on a path that followed a small stream.  The water almost always flowed over the rocks.  I have never seen it completely dry. Walking along flowing water soothes me. 

This morning the pups and I took our morning walk. I had certain criteria for the new home.  Flowing water to walk beside was not one of them.  It seems that it happened accidentally, none the less.  Lucky me.