My morning routine begins with a trip to the basement to start a load of laundry. This time of year, when the irises are blooming just outside the door and the morning light is at a perfect slant, I generally take my camera downstairs with me.
I hurried out to fill the birdfeeder and take a few pictures before the light changed, noticing, on my way out the door, a messy pile of leaves and moss on the basement floor.
I figured it was the wrens' nest building material -- this time of year we leave the basement door open and the wrens love to build their little nests in the corners at the top of the block wall. The nests aren't very tidy -- but then neither is our basement.
I looked up and saw that one nest had been knocked down entirely . . . and I saw the culprit.
A young blacksnake, out hunting. I don't think the wrens had laid yet -- and I hope they'll rebuild somewhere else. The blacksnake is welcome as he keeps the mice in check . . .
I call it mindful living -- always having in the back of your mind the knowledge that there are snakes around . . . Just another part of nature -- like the iris.