A Sip and a Snake

Biggie the snake has been tormenting Margaret and Charlotte all summer. He claimed half our front gardens, hiding in the spiderwort and slithering out from under the fuchsia bee balm when we least expected. He made us nervous to pick the raspberries next to railing, and to take out the compost in anything shorter than Wellies. The girls (and the mama) watched him from the porch for months as the weeds crowded our perennials, but when he actually slithered up under a rocker, it was time for action. And when Biggie was joined by new snake Smalls, Karl put on his snake catching gloves and got to work, with pajama-clad assistant Bea in tow. Biggie was re-homed about a mile away on a nice, warm rock in a meadow. Smalls, still on the loose but much less threatening, was last spotted under the hydrangea. We celebrated with one of Charlotte’s latest creations, a “Chai Blossom” garnished  with star anise, slices of custard pie dotted with the season’s last sour cherries, and a goat hike.