Last Sunday, Justin and I raked and bagged leaves in the front yard. It was cool, but not cold, and the sun was out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The day was gorgeous! As we were finishing the yard, we noticed a hawk bouncing around in the ivy beneath some trees. We saw he had something in his mouth and we quickly realized he had a mouse. He enjoyed his food and then perched on a tree near Justin and me.
I have a love-hate relationship with the hawks. It's really more of a hate-love relationship. I don't like mice, but the thought of them being eaten by a bird is awful. Even though the chipmunks made a terrible mess in our storage room outside last year, and I had to clean it up, I still don't want them to be eaten by a hawk. My love with the hawks is that they eat snakes. I've never seen one of the hawks in our yard eat a snake, but I really hope they do. There are plenty!
Justin told me that when he and the dogs were in the backyard while I was working in the front yard, he and Annabelle spotted the hawk just standing on the ground in the middle of the backyard. Annabelle started barking and ran toward the bird, which immediately flew to a tree. Annabelle then "marked" the area where the hawk was standing. She wanted to let him know who's yard he was in. Even though I know they're probably safe, I have a rule that the dogs aren't allowed outside alone when the hawk has been spotted in the yard.
Yesterday, Justin was raking the very back yard while I was inside cleaning. After a few minutes, Justin came back inside and we had the following conversation:
k: The area where you raked looks really good.
j: You don't want to go out there.
k: Is there a snake out there?
j: Yeah.
k: Did you kill it?
j: No, it got away before I could kill it.
k: How big was it?
j: About a foot long, but it was really skinny. I'm pretty sure it was a copperhead.
Where is that darned hawk when you need it?! Last summer, I found out that several of our neighbors suspected that a bed of copperheads was near our yard. I guess they're still there. I really want to get the very back of our yard completely cleared of ivy and brush so that we can get some grass to grow there. I know that won't prevent snakes in the yard, but it will allow us to see them more easily. Maybe they won't like the grass and will leave. Something else that bothered me about the snake spotting was that I always thought snakes hibernated until spring. It's still winter, so why are they out and about already? Seriously, where is that hawk?
After being nearly eaten by a snake, we decided to eat at Mary Mac's Tea Room for an early supper. We've wanted to eat there for a while and decided to go. The line was wrapped around the building. I suggested we go to Flip. Their parking lot was full, but we were able to be seated inside immediately. I inquired about sitting outside, but there was a twenty minute wait, so we took the table inside. I ordered my usual shrimp poboyger with fries. Justin ordered the steak tartare burger with a side of pork belly macaroni and cheese.
While we were waiting, I joked with Justin about the raw meat he ordered. He said, "No, I think they cook it very slightly." I said, "Um, no, I'm pretty sure it's completely raw." He looked it up on his phone and said, "You're right. It is completely raw." When it arrived, his burger was topped with a soft boiled egg. To me, soft boiled is practically raw. He ate the burger and said that it was absolutely delicioius. The waiter commented that if we would just lick the plates a little, they could reuse them without having to wash them. What can I say, we were hungry. We shared a nutella and burnt marshmallow milkshake. Justin said, "These burnt marshmallows are the most cooked thing I've eaten tonight." I thought that was pretty funny because it was true.
When we got home, I showed Justin a clip from the Mr. Bean show that reminded me of the night:
No comments:
Post a Comment