Yesterday I found a 3′ long gopher snake in my garden. It was wrapped around the hose reel. Nearly stepped on it. Totally creeped me out.

Today I found a roof rat in my bird feeder.

When I was in the process of baiting our live traps, I found an orange with a lovely distribution of mold.

Why do we have so much wildlife in our gardens? Drought conditions and gardens that are great habitats for loads of critters.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t successful trapping the rat today, maybe tomorrow.

Update
This morning I asked my husband to open and set the trap. When he opened the trap, the rat ran out. Apparently last night when I asked if he closed the trap, and he said yes, he was talking about something else.

The rat ate all of the bait–a nice chunk or juicy orange and a saltine smeared with peanut butter topped with seeds.

Has the rat learned its lesson to avoid the trap? Maybe not. The trap was moved and more tasty treats were placed inside.