Year of the Snake

Yesterday our younger daughter called to say she'd found a "garter" snake in their bedroom. It had come in through an air vent. She e-mailed a picture to help her dad, or someone, identify it. Meanwhile the snake disappeared down the vent again. They were almost happy when he later reappeared in  the bedroom, because they didn't like to imagine him trapped in the vent. Tom captured the little guy and released him in the woods, where they hope he will be happy.  And stay. 

A naturalist we know in Knox County, OH thought he was a juvenile eastern ratsnake. They are notorious for getting into people's homes, she said.

Clarence, the elderly cat who lives full time in the bedroom, ignored the intruder. 

Win-Win Situation

Thanks to our community listserve, I was able to recoup some of the money we spent on the "costly mistake" I wrote about on June 7th. I advertised my special-order room-darkening honeycomb shades online. Within a few days, I had a buyer!  She travels a lot on business and sometimes needs to sleep during the day.  "Room-darkening" was just what she wanted. Meanwhile, we ordered new shades. I got the "airy and cheerful" look I was after and she got better daytime sleep.