Yes, snake photos! Story to follow.

One of the things I love the most about living here is the variety of wildlife that I get to see every day. There is nothing to brighten my day more than a chance encounter with a representative of the Great Outdoors.

Usually, these encounters take place in very unexpected ways, precisely when you're not expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen. It was definitely this way when I walked down my staircase last week, and saw one of my cats peering into the sunroom, with an incredibly confused (and maybe, a little freaked out) look on her face. My first thought was that somehow, one of the dogs had finally found a way to break out of the kennel. What else could make my cats look so concerned? To my surprise, though, when I peeked out the sunroom window, I found a hummingbird, rapidly beating her wings against the ceiling and glass doors trying to escape. Somehow, she'd flown in and couldn't figure out how to get back outside.

I sprinted outside and grabbed my good ol' fashioned bug net, and carefully propped myself up on a chair, balancing with the net just underneath the tiny little bird. I could see that it was a female ruby-throated hummingbird, and to be honest I spent a moment marveling at seeing this creature up close before I gently closed the net around her panicked body. She beat her wings against the net in a frenzy until I carried it outside, where she immediately relaxed and perched her tiny feet on the mesh. I reached in slowly, coaxed her to perch on my finger, and as soon as my hand left the mouth of the net, she was gone - buzzed up into the sky like a speeding rocket and soared over the top of the treeline. I don't think I'll ever be so fortunate to see another hummingbird that close. It was awesome.

Last night, when Byron and I were taking an evening bat-watching tour - which consists of walking to the buggiest part of the park at twilight and staying very quiet - we found more than just bats (which are incredible animals to watch, by the way). Coiled precariously on the path was a tiny Eastern milk snake, bravely poised to strike my husband's approaching shoe. I pretty much get beside myself with glee when I see a snake in the wild. It's just one of those things. So, without further ado, I swept in and scooped up the little guy, and carried him the whole way home with a huge dorky grin on my face. I got tagged three times throughout the journey, which is, of course, just a natural part of the game. It was definitely one of those times when I'm glad that I can positively identify non-venomous snakes. When I got home, I settled him into one of my own, pet snake hatchling cages for the night, with plans to photograph and release him in the morning.

True to my word, I set him free today after a few minutes of photography. He was a fiesty little guy and bit me twice more before scurrying off into the woods at the edge of our property. Not quite as friendly a creature as the hummingbird, but to me (at least), every bit as charming.