One of my friends sharing my garden and helping to control
the birth of too many snakes.
Snakes and lizards use the same breeding holes and in a dispute,
being equally matched, the snake will often back off.
Well, here is Bill, the Stumpy Tail,
who likes to snack on my strawberries,
if I have any,
ambling the whole length of the house on a swelteringly hot day.
Is he looking for a drink? I did put out a little milk for him
but he wasn't interested
around the corner into the shade house
along the dry and unkempt floor
around the water tank and under the weeds,
singlemindedly toward his goal
ah, bliss! at last a good feed of my only plant of pink clover
which I had purposely left there.
Replete and happy, he turned . . .
and smiled at me
before wending his weary way back to the other end of the house.
Linking with
and
How lovely. And I would much, much rather have Bill in my garden that snakes. We had a red-bellied black which lived under the front steps in one of our homes - and I only used the back door for about nine months of the year.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!! I've sometimes mistaken stumpies and blue-tongues for snakes when I see their scales amongst the dry leaves - and jumped a mile!!! But ... snakes don't 'rustle' in quite the same way!!
ReplyDeleteOh how beautiful he is, Arija. And I love that you also subscribe to the natural way of deterring snakes. There's a rule here in Mwadui that if you come across a snake, you call the safety officer who calls the snake catcher. This man takes the snake into the bush and releases it. Often though the Tanzanians and many Mzungus take matters into their own hands and destroy the snake. Bill is quite scaly and quite unique with that stumpy tail. Here's to a wonderfully blessed New Year to you. (((Hugs))) Jo
ReplyDeleteI have had both a goanna and a snake in my yard recently. I don't mind the goannas but I am petrified of the snakes.
ReplyDeletewhat a marvelous creature!!! so prehistoric looking!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Tex, a marvelous, prehistoric looking little critter! Great shots for the day, Arija!! Hope you have a very Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Hard to tell which end is which with Bill. Such a lovely friend to keep the snake population down.
ReplyDeleteBeim ersten Foto hab ich mir noch gedacht, das ist aber ein seltsamer Tannenzapfen! Großartige Fotos! Der gefällt mir, den könnte ich mir auch durchaus im Garten vorstellen! ;)
ReplyDeleteBill,the Stumpy Tail, sounds like a helpful friend if he's keeping the snake population down. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of a fascinating critter ~ Happy New Year to you ~ carol
ReplyDeleteThat's such a great way to control the snakes.
ReplyDeleteBill is a cool and different looking lizard. That is for sure, the front and back ends look alike. Cool photos, thanks for sharing your neat friend.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best in 2014, Happy New Year to you and your family!
Interesting looking critter! We don't have snakes or lizards here, which makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a character he is! I've never before seen a stumpy tale.
ReplyDeleteI've always been partial to lizards. And flustered by snakes.
At this moment I am melting in Oz! I have not yet seen a stump tail. It looks a very interesting animal to me! Happy New Year, Arija!
ReplyDeletequite the charmer Arija
ReplyDeleteI love the way you've told his "tale" even though his physical one is far shorter:-) Happy New Year Arija!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool lizard! Wishing you a wonderful 2014.
ReplyDeleteNothing like that in my garden...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Arija I hope all your wishes for 2014 come true.
Hugs Drew xx
Wonderful pics.
ReplyDeleteSpecial lizard,
ReplyDelete。❊ * 。❊ 。 ❊ _█_ ❊ 。 * ❊
_Π_____ (•.•) * 5☆★☆★☆
❊ /______/~\ ( ♥ ) ❊ 2014 Happy Day ❊
｜田 田 ｜門｜ ( ♥ ) Happy New Year❊
•♫♥♫*♥*♪♥♫•♪*♥♫•♫♥♫*♥*♪♥♫•♪*♥•♫♥♫*♥*♪
http://retriever-louisettesblogs.blogspot.com
Oh neat looking lizard.... Happy New Year dear Arija... Michelle.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great snake repellent this guy makes! I like our lizards a lot (they are tiny compared to yours).
ReplyDelete