This weekend I was sitting at my desk busy working away when I heard a knock at the back door. It was my wife, asking if I would take time to come and look at something. Naturally, I said, “Come in!  What’s up?”

She replied, “I’ve got a problem. A snake – a mean snake.”

Through the years, my wife has gone from uncontrollably hysterical around the legless critters to now being almost nonchalant.

I have actually seen her “shoo away” a garter snake while working in the garden and never slow or interrupt the flow of our conversation.

“Did you try to shoo it away?”

“I tried.  I saw a garter snake earlier today; it was a little one and it shooed away, but this one is all coiled up, sticking out its tongue and snapping at me.”

I couldn’t help but say, “Well, that’s rude – sticking out its tongue and all.” Laughing, I headed to the side yard to check out the mean snake.

About halfway through the yard she stopped and said, “There he is!” Sure enough, there was a large garter snake coiled up by one of the decorative bushes, half-hidden in a few leaves.

As I walked up to it, it flicked its tongue a couple times and lunged at me. I had just encountered a garter snake with an attitude. It wasn’t going anywhere. Picking up my wife’s short-handled rake, I waved it at the snake.

“That rake’s not long enough,” she said.

“That’s okay … I’m just assessing the snake’s attitude.”

After another disrespectful tongue display and another strike, I opted for the long-handled rake. I turned the rake over and gently slid the tines under the snake and lifted it up. I was pleased to find it worked pretty well for a modified snake-handling staff.

With the critter draped over one of the tines, I walked to the edge of the ravine and dropped it into a nice pile of leaves well outside the boundaries of the yard.

Gathering of Red-tailed hawks

Apparently, it is the breeding season for Red-tailed hawks. Coming home a recent evening, I noticed a Red-tailed hawk soaring across the county road. As I approached, I looked up and saw two more in a tree right at the edge of the road.

Going just a little further, I saw something I’ve not seen before. I saw the fourth hawk of the group scavenging on the carcass of an opossum. I’ve known of bald eagles scavenging deer carcasses, but not Red-tails. A quick check online verified this behavior!

Winter fish kills

Owners of shallow ponds and lakes, especially in northern Indiana, should watch for fish kills this spring.

Because ice cover measured 20 inches thick on some northern waters, Indiana fisheries biologists anticipate receiving fish kill reports once the bodies of water thaw.

Shallow, weedy ponds are susceptible to winter kills. The most common cause of fish kills in Indiana ponds is suffocation because of the lack of oxygen. Aquatic plants can produce oxygen only when sunlight is available.

While some sunlight can penetrate clear ice, snow and thick ice often block sunlight, resulting in dangerously low oxygen levels. Then, as aquatic plants naturally die during winter, plant decomposition consumes the oxygen fish and other aquatic life need. Once a winter kill begins, little can be done to stop it.

Pond owners who experience a fish kill or need advice on other pond-related issues may refer to the Indiana Fish Pond Management booklet at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3356.htm

Pond owners can try to reduce the likelihood of a winter kill by installing an aeration system and removing snow from the ice when safe. Building ponds with depths greater than 10 feet also reduces the likelihood of a fish kill. Drilling holes in ice does not prevent a fish kill.

Biologists do not expect significant fish kills at deep natural lakes and manmade reservoirs. The exception could be gizzard shad, a species vulnerable to prolonged cold weather. But because shad can diminish a lake’s panfish population, a shad kill may improve fishing.

On March 23, Tom Bacula, District 1 fisheries biologist, received the first report of a shad kill on Bruce Lake in Pulaski and Fulton counties. Lake residents and anglers who observe significant fish kills on public waters should contact their district fisheries biologist. Contact information for each district is in the 2015-16 Indiana Fishing Regulation Guide or online at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3590.htm

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World.