Natrix natrix. Grass snake. In the spare room on the ground floor in the dark. Not pleasant. This is one of those italian biscia that proliferate in this area but I am glad that it was only a baby one. It was about 18 inches in length with a body diameter that of my pinkie finger. They are totally harmless. I don't know how it got into the house, only that it took some nerve to coax it into a shoe box (not easy since it just wanted to stay where it was) where I then carried it gingerly through the garage before flipping the whole thing upside down onto the ground.
It began to slither back towards the garage, so I went to grab a broom, run back to the garage, to find it near the entrance. I start sweeping in exaggerated strokes. Stomping my foot too. If the neighbors had been looking out the window they would've thought I had really lost it, but the sweep seemed to do the trick as finally the snake started slithering quickly away. Yuck.
We enjoyed the first harvest of the season: peas, rat tail radishes and garlic scapes. Spring's prolonged cooler temps and rain ensured that there probably won't be a load of tomatoes this year, but we're happy for whatever we end up with. A ton of fruit drop from the persimmon tree which is a shame. All those potential persimmons.
Today's high: 27°C / 81°F