God's wonderful but creepy creatures

So we have had many encounters of the reptilian kind here in Lind. We have been warned that the Rattle Snakes will be put in full force this year, as they are every year. We warned the kids that they are not touch any snakes that they see in the wild. But this little critter in Kevin's hands just happened to be slithering across our patio. No doubt soaking up the warmth of the concrete. He was only about a foot long, a youngin', so we were unable to tell if he was a rattler or not because he was too young. But we have also had gopher snakes here that act and look like rattlers without the rattle or the poison. So no touching is the policy!! (for kids anyways)....
This little guy took us forever to figure out what he was! Nicholas was out playing in the yard and came in yelling that he had found a snake! After looking at him I said, "That's not a snake. It has legs." Todd picked him up and he was all slimy! We thought he was a lizard of some sort but it turned out to be a long toed salamander. They are natural to this area. He was cool and the kids loved seeing him up close and personal.


These are not the only encounters we have had! Last summer there was a Gopher Snake in the bush in the front yard and a frog (not sure what kind) was hopping through my dinning room while my mom was visiting. I am not sure how he got into the house.
We all have a natural curiosity about the animals in our environment. We are careful not to handle the animals that could harm us or poison us by touch. But we like to capture them, research them, take pictures of them and then let them go in an area where they will not be harmed nor us harmed by them.
Oh, yeah there was this one time where Socks (the cat) captured a bird and brought him in the house.. right in front of us and the bird was still alive. He dropped the bird and it flew off into the living room. We were able to capture it and take it back outside. Thankfully Socks did not hurt it and it was able to fly off safely.