On the one hand, I was like, "Well, snakes gotta eat too. And it's not like all birds are vegetarians."

These aren't, even. I totally have been watching mighty hunting sagas all day, and you don't see me rushing out to defend the moths.

Which is why I didn't kill the snake. I tried not to hurt him at first, but then I whacked at him trying to get him to let loose of the third chick. He was fine, though, as far as I can tell. But I still have him trapped, I think, and I need to decide what to do with him. He's a benevolent snake, in general terms, obviously I'd rather have him than a rattler. But I think I need to kill him or seriously relocate him, because he knows where the nest is now. And I should probably decide and do it before the SO gets home, because it'll be upsetting to him.

And the mother phoebe is sitting on the nest tonight, but not in her normal spot. Which worries me. I don't know if maybe I didn't damage the nest during the dislodging of the snake. But I rather suspect that maybe the last chick is dead in the nest. I didn't want to disturb her tonight, but I'll need to check in the morning. I thought I'd seen them bringing bugs to the nest still afterward, and I know it was alive for a while anyway, but I don't know.

I mean, I fished out a dead sparrow from the garden pond the other day, and while it was a bummer, I wasn't unduly upset. But these are "our" phoebes. They moved in shortly after we did, and we've shared space for four years. As far as I know, this mother is a second generation mother, and she's not afraid of me at all. So I "know" them. I talk to her every night. And I feel like I let them down.

I'd like to say I wouldn't normally be so upset. And maybe if I hadn't seen it happening, if I'd been in New Mexico and came home to find the empty nest, that would be true. But I am upset, and I already didn't have any coping skills left.

You all should have seen me, though. I was a whirling dust devil of angry. Mama bear would have stepped quietly backward. Heh. I killed the predator that was eating my tadpoles one year, too, so apparently it's a thing.

I read it and it was awful. I'm so sorry Liese, that's awfully traumatic!

I feel old--I left my friends birthday party at 11pm.

Anyway, thanks everybody, and I'm mostly good, if upset. I watched some stupid movies for a while, and now I'm watching a How It's Made marathon which is seriously zen.

Oh! And today the SO hit the REI annual sale and scored me an awesome new backpack. So I'm looking forward to playing with that when he gets home tomorrow.

Oh! And today the SO hit the REI annual sale and scored me an awesome new backpack.

Cool color too.

Before Emmett started high school we took him to REI to get a REAL backpack instead of the crap, somewhat disposable ones we'd been getting once a year with characters on them etc.

And, holy smokes, it makes such a huge difference. It's just much easier on his back, it's not splitting at the seams after 9 months, and he's carrying a lot of stuff back and forth between both houses. It was a classic case of "invest the money in quality and it pays for itself."

I know, nice, right? Feminine but not too girly. Backpacks really are one of the things where it's worth spending the money. I have an old "youth" external frame one, but I don't like how it feels, and it's getting out of usefulness. This one is specifically for women, and the REI store had a short female worker try on the different sizes for me. They'll custom fit it for me when I get back there, too.

Well, in this morning's bird news, the last chick is still alive! But apparently her little adventure out of the nest has sparked some premature fledging desire. This morning I couldn't find her, and she was actually outside of the nest sitting on the speaker. I tried to move her, which was a dumb idea, because she leapt out of the nest two more times. Third time was a charm as I was able to get her calmer and I think she stayed put, plus dad was right there with a snack. But we're going to have to keep an eye out, I think. She can flutter, but not really fly yet. I may rearrange the stuff on the deck so she has a softer landing spot if she does take a plunge.

So continuing adventures in rural-land, I guess.

Yay, chick! That incident would have really bothered me too, and I would start thinking of things I should have done to keep "my" birds safe. Did you get the perpetrator away safely?

When we lived in the country, we had a snake experience that, had it been recorded, would be a YouTube sensation. At least I think watching me, in my nightgown, attempting to save a snake from the dogs, would have been pretty funny. It was a big black snake, and I kept picking it up with a stick and trying to get it to go outside the fence, and it kept turning around and heading right back towards the dogs. Snakes don't take direction well.

I still haven't decided what to do with him. I guess I need to do it now.

I still haven't decided what to do with him. I guess I need to do it now.

"Oh yeah. I've got a snake in a can..."

Well, he's still in there. Looks pretty contented, as a matter of fact. So release should be straightforward. I got out the SO's hunting maps, and found a place I think I'll release him. It's in the national forest. It's actually a water treatment area, but a natural one, so they've done it up all nice as a created wetland wildlife area. I think I can park and haul the trash can out there pretty easily and still have him be pretty clear of where people will go.

But since I'm going to release him and not kill him (go figure, he's lucky I put it off, because yesterday I was not feeling so charitable) I think I'll wait until the SO gets home. He'll probably want to see the snake.

Yay, so glad to hear the chick is fine!

I didn't realize how invested I was in the outcome until I read it. We lost a rescue chick once, and it still hurts. I guess unconsciously I mapped it onto your phoebe, Liese.