Scaley Visitor!

While taking my dog, Smokey, outside, I sat on the front steps as usual. I looked down and saw this little fellow right below me.

Yellow ring around his neck

Bright yellow belly

    I Googled him and discovered he is a Mississippi ringneck snake and is very rare to see; not because they are uncommon here, but because they are very secretive. I think he is actually quite fascinating and even beautiful. Now, I am aware that there are SOME people ( ok, MOST people) who have a viscerally negative reaction when presented with ANY kind of snake and would never agree with the appeal of slithering things. I must confess that I have little fear of these creatures. HOWEVER, I surely don't like being surprised by one! This one was only about 8 inches long and had a tiny head so I knew right away he wasn't poisonous. In East Tennessee we only have 2 kinds of poisonous snakes, and they are Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads. Many people think there are Water Mocossins, also known as Cotton Mouths, here as well, but the TWRA says they are NOT found anywhere in the eastern part of the state. They are found in Middle and West Tennessee.
    When my son was 10 years old we got him a Ball Python and had him for about 4 years. They are the smallest member of the Python family and only reach about 4-5 feet. He had really beautiful markings and was a VERY low maintanance pet. I finally gave him away because of the disgusting RATS that he ate (we had to defrost frozen ones because I couldn't stand to see him kill them :-()) There was also some concern that the size of his food was about the same size as my 3 pound Yorkie!!! EEEK! We called our snake "snake" because let's face it, he didn't really need a name. One rule was that we would not get him out when company was over, because some people REALLY HATE SNAKES!!! - and that's ok and was to be respected. I hope I haven't freaked YOU out too much with this snakey post, and that you actually come back again for some pretty crochet or flowers.
     I really love ALL God's creatures, except spiders-YUCK, and appreciate the role each of them plays in this amazing world He created.  Even the CREEPY CRAWLY ones.

"Then God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kind, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."
Genesis 1:25

Chartreuse

I will show you my latest WIP (work in progress) on the hook. I am making a cover for one of my Pottery Barn pillows that I LOVE. I have two of them but only have enough yarn on hand to cover one. They currently have white fuzzy lambswool covers, and I'm wanting a more Spring/Summer look for the upcoming seasons. I am doing the Block Stitch by Sue Pinner.  She has a wonderful crochet blog called The 8th Gem with many interesting projects. You should check it out. Anyway... here are the first pictures of my pillow cover.

I am using cottons and a couple of wools. I will bring you more pictures as soon as I finish.

Out in the garden things are really getting GREEEEEEN. I titled this post Chartreuse because of one particular plant. This one....

It's actually called Carpet of Gold but it is sooooo greeeeen. I have not edited these pictures in any way.

Thanks to a fellow blogger, Rowen at Coastal Colors, I found a cool app to make photo collages. I haven't been able to do this on Blogger (I'm sure there is a way but I couldn't figure it out!). It is called Diptic and the possibilities are endless. So FUN!

Finally, I found some drowsy bees enjoying the azaleas.

Big, fat, happy, DROWSY BEES.

I hope you're having a big, fat, happy, drowsy SPRING!

P.S. I you stop by please say "Hi" ! All you have to do is click on the word "comment" and it will take you to a comment box where you can leave me a message. I don't need glowing compliments (well, only if you want too ;-)). Just a simple "hello" will let me know you're there, and I'm not ALONE. Thank you for all my friends who say "Hi" on a regular basis. You know it keeps me going!