This year is turning into the year of the snake. While I‘ve seen about seven snakes this summer season, I’ve nearly stood on three. Today I was just walking up my driveway, head down while pulling my heavy shredder behind me when luckily I noticed something moving just where my next step would have been! I checked on the internet (not my photo) and it definitely was a brown snake - not a snake you want to mess with! I stopped in my tracks and watched as it slid quietly off under a nearby log pile! Deep breath!! It took a little while for me to get going again. I don’t take these encounters lightly. It acts as a reminder to always be vigilant even in your own driveway.
Anyway, earlier in the day I’d appreciated the sunny morning in my garden while cleaning out the duck bedding and giving them fresh mulch. Duck bedding is wonderful stuff. You can add it straight to the garden without ageing or composting. I helped out my wormwood plant and the heavy feeding corn to give them all a lift. I also changed out my nest boxes freshening them up with mulch and lemon balm. I’ve got some lemon balm that conveniently self seeded on the path to the chickens, makes harvesting very easy. Since my wormwood is just small at this stage I use lemon balm instead in the nest boxes to help deter mites.
After moving my sheep to a nice paddock overlooking the creek I again tackled my wood pile. Had to remove a bit of hardware from some old fence posts before moving them to the dam. Hopefully once they’re all submerged they’ll make great habitat for fish and other future dam residents. Finished my day with a visit to a couple of other farms with a friend from down the road who had to check on some cows that were calving - very cute day old calves!