Got carrots? Part 2 and snake update (Mikey)

Sunni, of course, was the first to smell the carrots, since he was closest to our car when we arrived at the ranch yesterday. He smelled them and couldn't WAIT to tell Beauty ALL ABOUT IT! Here they are, exchanging their gossip about carrots. Of course, the fact that Sunni had "carrot breath" made Beauty all the more excited!

NOTE: I'm not sure why some of my photos come out so dark. I took off the @#$% polarizing filter that hubby put on the Nikon, since I can't see how it's working when it is on.) I took a bunch of photos without it this morning, just to see if it is making the photos darker, so I'll let 'ya know next week.

SNAKE UPDATE: Hubby and I are out driving around, looking at various properties just to see what is on the market. Now, up at the horse ranch, I've run across 3 snakes, all non-poisonous. Two of them were right by the weeds by the water faucet and slithered away as soon as they sensed me. I nearly stepped on a gopher snake 2 weekends ago when I had the stomach flu. Again, he saw me and slithered away. Well, yesterday, we were looking at a ranch up on a hill with a beautiful view of the valley, and with a pool. Um...the pool was "not maintained"!!! In fact, the water was GREEN and there were frogs in it! There was also another non-poisonous (gopher?) snake in it and watching him, he desperately wanted out, but couldn't slither up the sides (I always SCREAM when I see a snake...I'm absolutely terrified of them AND rats), but I didn't wish to see him die, so I asked hubby to find a long stick. We were on the outside of a locked fence and gate, so there was NO WAY we could get in and get the snake out, but hubby found a pool skimmer and got the snake in it and scooped him up and saved him! Hey, Mikey, see what you've started! I now belong to the "snake saving" club, like you! He was a beautiful specimen and I'm going to have to find out what he was. UNFORTUNATELY, he immediately went back into the rocks surrounding the pool, so hubby left the pool skimmer in the pool so that if he heads back in, at least he can crawl up the skimmer pole and get out! No telling how many snakes are dead in the bottom of THAT pool! (shaking head) Yup. I'm pretty sure it was some kind of Western garter snake. I've been looking up snakes all morning and the colors and shape and size indicate a garter snake. And, garter snakes do eat toads (whole), so he probably was after the toad, couldn't get one, and then couldn't get out. You know, we NEED snakes to help keep down the gophers and rats and mice! The only snakes I wouldn't allow around my dogs or horses would be rattlesnakes and I'm not sure how I would react to seeing one of those! Hope I never find out!