Ringneck snakes are a real favorite of mine, Nancy. Totally harmless, of course, though they can emit a heavy musk when handled. Another of their defense mechanisms. These are generally very small snakes. The official descriptions says adults can be from 10" to 30" in length, but I have never seen one over 12", and I've seen many, many over the years. I've often seen babies only 4" to 6" long. Here is a picture of the one we found under Betsy's camellia when we dug it up for Evelyn. You can see how little it is. Glad you rescued yours. They are gentle and very pretty snakes. Marcia

I'm having the same problem in Massachusetts. The catepillar is black with horizontal stripes. Some leaves are curled up completely (I've opened them to see what's inside; removed the catepillar, but didn't know if I should squish it). Some leaves look like they've been eaten and there's a webbing around the hole in those leaves. I also found a leaf covered in little brown disgusting crawlies with what looked like feces. Yuck! Two other folks from Mass. have asked similar questions. Are we having an infestation? Hope this gives more info to elicit more help from you knowledgeable folks! Thanks.

Sounds like a great place for wildlife! Off-topic, but since you mentioned jaguars, I stand on my theory that someone in eastern Kentucky breeds black jaguars and his customers turn the cubs loose when they get too rowdy. I.e., I was called in to sub teach at Rodburn elementary yesterday and in the lunch room one of the teachers was complaining about a "huge" "black panther" with a five foot tail in her backyard that leaped up onto a bank about 25 feet away before vanishing into woods. She said she called the fish and wildlife number but they told her that black panthers "don't exist in Kentucky" so they wouldn't come. I laughed and said that anytime I tell people in other states about the jaguar they react as though it's just a "hillbilly urban legend." I reassured her that I'd checked online and read they are harmless to humans and usually to livestock-just don't let her dog out of the house when one is around, and told her what happened to my neighbor's dog. That dog had to have $300 worth of stitches this fall, but Jeff said all the panther did was give the attacking dog one casual slap, then walked off without looking back. He also commented that it was black and had a "five-foot tail." Locals call them "black cougars" but also often see regular cougars, unaware that they are separate species. Meanwhile, DuBois told me a customer in West Liberty said he'd seen black panthers many times while hunting and taking care of his cattle. Wish I could see one. All I have are photos of the tracks-which are unique to the animal and a different size and shape from a cougar's track

Thank you for your kind comments! We visited the fish hatchery last weekend but didn't see one migrant. Yesterday morning we hit the bird lottery, though. A rare migrant and two lifers, as well as a warbler. I took so many photos (over 1700) that my computer has been barely functional, so have had trouble working on the photos. Time to install a second hard drive, just for photos (sigh)