RE: Snakes. I live in TX, not near NM, but I have lived in areas where I was likely to find a snake in or near the house. The most important thing to do to avoid finding a snake in your house is to keep the grass/groundcover low, low, low. We live in the middle of Austin and we have tons of baby copperheads and rat snakes in our yard if we don't mow often. When the grass is short, we never find them. When it's long, we see tons. So the "no grass" advice is probably very good advice! Also, some pest services will offer a "snake repellent" service where they spray or spread something (I don't know what) around your foundation every 3 months or so to keep snakes from coming inside. I've never used the service, so I don't know how well it works or how eco-friendly it is, but my friend swears by it. She moved to Austin from St. Petersburg (Russia) and was COMPLETELY freaked to find scorpions, tarantulas, snakes, centipedes, milipedes, roaches, deer, racoons, coyotes and even an armadillo in and around the house she rented (inside city limits but near a greenbelt), so she quickly became familiar with all the wildlife services in the phonebook! (She liked most of the critters, but I think she is permanently scarred by the scorpion experiences, even though she was never stung...) Good luck with your move! And no matter what you see in Alb, at least it's not Texas!

OHHH Thank you Remy for that information. I have always thought Jonquils and Daffy's were the same flower not knowing that they were just of the same family. I have really gotten to love Daffy's this year after I had ONE (yeppers just one) that I didn't know what it was, bloom lol. The reason I asked about the Fox marker is that I thought it was a name of the Tulip (this has been my first year for those also lol) and fox is my last name lol. I am trying now to germinate foxgloves but haven't had luck yet lol. The worst part of living in "the tropics" is that soo many beautiful flowers can't take this heat and humidity. One my DL's I have them bunched together (a no no I learned) so now I have to research the color to make sure which marker goes with which DL lol. Hey Im learning still lol.

Let me think... Green Treefrog Gray Treefrog Spring Peeper Blanchards Cricket Frog Western Chorus Frog Bullfrog Green frog Bronze Frog Northern Leopard Frog (heard) Southern Leopard Frog American Toad Dwarf American Toad Fowlers Toad Blue Spotted Salamander Tiger Salamander Spotted Salamander Smallmouth Salamander Marbled Salamander Mole Salamander Longtail Salamander Cave Salamander Eastern Zigzag Salamander Southern Redback Salamander Northern Slimy Salamander Western Slimy Salamander Common Snapping Turtle Midland Painted Turtle Southern Painted Turtle Common Map Turtle Red Eared Slider Blanding's Turtle Eastern Collered Lizard Northern Fence Lizard Southern Coal Skink Five Lined Skink Broad-headed Skink Ground Skink Western Worm Snake Midwest Worm Snake Southern Black Racer Northern Ringneck Snake Mississippi Ringneck Snake Prairie Ringneck Snake Black Ratsnake Western Fox Snake Eastern Hognose Snake Speckled Kingsnake Black Kingsnake Yellowbelly Watern Snake Midland Water Snake Northern Water Snake Broad Banded Water Snake Queen Snake Midland Brown Snake Northern Redbelly Snake Eastern Garter Snake Chicago Garter Snake Lined Snake Western Cottonmouth Timber Rattlesnake Scott

Matt, My wife agrees with yours about the lack of normality. She doesn't like snakes at all, the other herps she's okay with. I think I've got my 2 yr. old son on my side. He seems to have already developed an interest in herps. But he and I have a hard time convincing her that we're normal. Thanks for your posts, always enjoy them. Evan