Snakes

One of the things about coastal Georgia that I could do without are the snakes and spiders. Just this past week, the Brunswick News ran an article about how the venomous snakes in the area get very active at this time of year, since they're breeding. This wouldn't be a problem, except that there are SIX types including copperheads, coral snakes, timber rattlesnakes, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, pigmy rattlesnakes, and cottonmouths. What is worse, Little St. Simons Island, just to our north, has more rattlesnakes per acre than anywhere else in the U.S. I don't think I'll be going there any time soon. The paper recommended wearing chaps or long boots if you're going to be anywhere near tall grass, but I had one question when I read that: Who owns chaps and actually wears them in Georgia?

For the second time, I have now seen a snake in our backyard. The first was easily three feet long and green. I can't find a picture of this snake anywhere. Must be undocumented. Anyway, today, I came across this snake:


Now, I realize that this is merely a garter snake, and he can't do any damage to me. It's just a little freaky every time I tend to my yard, I get a reptile or arachnid adventure. Ministry won't kill me, but the snakes just might. Welcome to paradise.

Jumping King

Check this out:

21 weeks, 09/11/07

St. Simons Sunset

As we returned home this evening from another night at church, we were stunned by the sun as it set at the end of our street. This picture hardly does our view justice, since it didn't pick up the steam rising from the street after the rain, but the Spanish moss and the trees silhouetted against the blazing yellow sky look nice.

The pace of our lives has really picked up recently, and we're enjoying being here and doing what we're doing. It seems like all of us live at the church. Annika is there six days a week if you count pre-school, which she loves. (She's already learned how to write her name with lower case letters in the first week.) While we're still getting to know people, it has been great to see how happy Annika is to be at church, especially because there are so many caring adults and neat kids there. The church is beginning to feel like a home, I'm happy to report.

We'll keep posting soon, especially with updated photos and videos. You should see Sammy in his jumping contraption. He's got hops, but it's too bad his genes won't make him tall enough to be a basketball player.

20 weeks 09/03/07

Chicago's latest recruit :-)

Troy the Destroyer

One of the added bonuses of living in the South is the vast array of bugs that can destroy your home. Just this past week we had Terminix install bait stations to protect our home against termites. The previous owner of our house didn't do so, but our house was termite-free when we purchased it. We weren't willing to take that risk, so while our wallets are now lighter, we assume we can rest easier at night.

But it was at night - last night to be exact - that we saw a nasty carpenter ant had made its way into our bedroom. I had just started to fall asleep, when Jess started screaming, "Ewww...ewww...ewww!" She proceeded to kill the ant and discover all sorts of tiny ants crawling around the baseboards.

This morning I headed over to ACE Hardware, and got to know my pesticides. As of lunchtime today, I have sprayed our entire home with pesticide meant to protect against ants, roaches, etc. as well as to ward off the little nasties that kill the grass. (You wouldn't believe the wildlife that hides out in our grass. I saw a spider that was at least an inch and a half long, grasshoppers, lizards, and more.) I also brought home some extra-strength carpenter ant killer. I used the entire bottle, but your should have seen those suckers writhe in pain. Not in my house, ants!

I hope the message spreads to all insects, Troy the Destroyer now lives here. You've been warned.

19 weeks, 8/28/07

Getting stronger!



Samuel sporting his nighttime diaper (yes, it is bulky but bulletproof) :-)