I stepped outside of my front door yesterday morning and surprised a snake that was basking in the sun on my little wooden walkway. It did quick, crazy diagonal getaway moves to slip into the ground cover. It's the same sort of snake I saw in the Fitzgerald Lake area twice on a walk two weeks ago: probably a common garter snake since it looks nothing like the other slithery beasts on this list.

Very much looking forward to relaxing at home this weekend. I feel ready to laze about on the porch with a magazine, maybe after cooking up some crepes. My robin is still nesting, despite me harrassing her with my presence all the time. I think she's sticking around for the long haul. Once the eggs hatch I'll definitely post pictures. Our homeowners' association just sent around an email requesting our help in counting nesting birds -- except for blue jays and robins, which are so common they don't bother counting them. What a diss!