The other day as I wandered through the garden to pick some herbs, I paused to check on the little seedlings of Tuscan Kale and onions I'd planted a month ago..., I was surprised and delighted to see that despite getting very little attention from me (a little watering, and some sluggo sprinkled to keep the slimey plant slurper slugs at bay,) the "little" plants had grown almost a foot tall..., as I stood wondering what had happened to make these plants flourish, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a little snake curled up warming himself on a nearby rock...
I imagined this little snake being the guardian of my little vegetables plants. He looked so content and at peace on the warm rock... his snake spirit scaring any slugs and bugs that might consider dining on the tender young plants... Thankssssssssss little snake....
Below is a Mary Oliver poem ~ enjoy...
Ribbon Snake Asleep In The Sun
~ Mary Oliver
I come upon him and he is
startled; he glides
to the rock's rim; he wheels, setting in motion
the stripes of his body, yet not going
anywhere. And though the books say
it can't be done, since his eyes are set
too far apart in the narrow skull, I'm not
lying when I say that he lifts his face and looks
into my eyes and I look back until
we are both staring hard
at each other. He wants to know
just where in this bright, blue-faced world
he might be safe. He wants to go on with the
flow of his life. Then he straightens
his shining back and drops
from the rocks and rockets through
the tangle of weeds, sliding, as he goes, over
my bare foot. Then it vanishes
into the shade and the grass, down to
some slubby stream, having
startled me in return. But this is a
small matter. What I would speak of, rather,
is the weightless string of his actually soft and
nervous body; the nameless stars of its eyes.
