Snakes and Compost

Gary waiting for prey that is a little smaller than me.

Up here in Vermont we are hard-core recyclers (or try to be although we draw the line at reusing dental floss). That means composting all of your kitchen and yard scraps which Catherine and I dutifully do. Someday we're supposed to get the richest soil on earth from our compost pile, but so far all we've gotten are a bunch of really healthy weeds. But anyway, yesterday I headed out to the compost pile to dispose of some leftover bait worms. This was a good deal for the worms as they were originally destined to help us catch our trout. Apparently, however, the trout we bought and stocked this year are from that rare sub-species of rainbows known as "Really Finicky Rainbows". They nibbled at the worms just like they nibbled at the power bait and then went on about their business. Which led to the liberation of the leftover bait worms. Not only were the worms lucky to be released, I was releasing them onto the compost pile, which for worms is like being dropped off in heaven. Worms apparently like nothing better than working their way through compost and turning it into the world's richest soil. As I went to empty the worm container, I was surprised to see a garter snake coiled on top of the compost pile. We have three garter snakes that we know of. Two hang out by the house, and this one lives down in the garden. Oddly enough, when I went back to the compost pile several hours later, Gary the garden garter snake was still hanging out on top of the compost pile. That's when I snapped these pictures. Today he was there again which leads me to one of two conclusions. Either the compost pile is a really good hunting spot for garter snakes or Gary ate the 8 to 10 worms I dumped yesterday and hasn't felt much like moving ever since.