Two snakes, Six Chicks

We had an unusual day yesterday.  My husband went on my regular morning walk with me and the dogs and as we were walking down a trail, he pushed me out of the way.  Right beside where we were walking was a copperhead snake.  Since it was a poisonous snake, he killed it and we continued our walk.  I was just so happy he had decided to walk with us!

Later on in the day Fred asked me to give him a ride out to where he left his truck in the back of the property and just as we got on the 4-wheeler near the feed shed, he once again pushed me gently but firmly off the 4-wheeler and said there's another snake.  It turned out to be a large king snake.  He was trying to show me the difference between the head of a poisonous snake and a non-poisonous one when the snake got away from him and crawled up under the shed, then inside the 4-wheeler.  He used the hose to try and flush the snake out but the snake was either really really crammed up in there or had gotten out and snuck off because he never did come out.  Fred was not going to kill this one, but just relocate him away from the feed shed. 

Fred went off to do something else and as I was standing on the back porch looking out in the yard, I noticed a hen with something unusual going on.  She was being followed by 8 baby chicks.  This would not be unusual except that the rooster has been gone for a few weeks.  This hen must have been one of the chickens that had disappeared right after he left and chose to lay on her eggs out in the woods and had hatched them out in the last day or two.  They were so cute, 4 yellow ones and 4 black ones.  I was shocked and thrilled.  She brought them into the chicken coop right before dark and they are now safe from predators. 

So we ended up with three surprises today - 2 snakes and a bunch of unexpected baby chicks!