The snake

This is what I happened upon yesterday in our backyard as I was trying to get sidewalk chalk out of the shed. ICK! I KNEW this little bugger was going to be out of hibernation soon and I purposefully scanned the yard with each step to make sure to not be spooked by him. And sure enough I stepped ONE INCH away from him and he lunged (in my recollection it was toward me) away and slithered along the side of the shed back to his hole (I presume). AH! I hate snakes. I can handle a lot of pesky critters, but not this one. Last year we had THREE in our yard (a yard that is only .2 acres) and almost always I would go out to water my garden or get something from the shed and it would slither away just before I stepped on it. How do those little buggers hide themselves so well! I purpose to look for them every time I walk out the door and STILL they get me. Ugh. So hopefully this year we'll only have the one and my husband maybe can relocate him. I know they can be good at clearing pests and all, but truthfully I'd rather have the pests.