A giant leaf & a snake

Rhubarb anyone???  We have a bumper crop this year.  Some of the leaves are as big as umbrellas!!  The kids were having fun with the giant stalks, but apparently Cricket does not approve.  Check out this skeptical look.

We spent the morning working in the garden.  It's soooo full of dandelions.  But, hey!....you can eat those so that counts for somethin'.  The weather was splendid today.  The first really warm day of the season.  We planted more onions, covered the strawberries with netting, tucked in the currents, and watered all the growing things.  While we were out there we dug up an earthworm for Lavender's lunch.

She likes her privacy, so we didn't actually see her eat the worm.  Nevertheless, the worm is not in the cage so he must have been eaten.  She seems to be settling in just fine.  She likes to go under the grass and move around the dirt.  We've also seen her sit in her water dish and climb the branch in her enclosure.  She seems really curious about us and reacts in different ways depending on how you approach her.  I am working with the boys to teach them how to help her not be defensive and to give her the respect and privacy she needs to thrive.  

I want to be able to help the boys learn to hold her.  I've read that handling for short sessions (like 5 minutes a day) will help the snake learn our scents and help her be calm.  The thing is, I'm not really keen on handling a snake.  I'm not afraid either.  It's more like....the actual sensation of her in my hand doesn't seem like something I would like.  And also I don't want to disturb her.  Or drop her if the sensation freaks me out.  But I guess I'll have to get over that.  I did pick her up to put her in the aquarium and it wasn't bad at all.  Of course, that was just for five seconds...not five minutes.

Isn't she lovely?