This post was originally published in 2012.
Earlier this year I discovered that mice and voles had taken up residence in my garden. It was a smart move on their part — the chicken coop is right next door, so they could gorge on the seed I’d planted then curl up for the night in the coop.
They ate ALL of my peanuts, most of my green bean seeds, the potatoes, and they are probably responsible for the half-eaten strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, and so on.
I was happy when the snake moved in because I thought he’d take care of the rodents. Silly me. Snake quickly figured out that eggs are easier to catch than mice or voles. I found him in the nest boxes a half-dozen times, always just after he’d feasted.
And then one day I found this:
That’s a wooden nest egg that he’s gobbling.
Honestly, I thought he’d figure out that it wasn’t a real egg and then back off. I snapped this pic because I knew no one would believe my story without visual proof.
When I checked again a few minutes later, a lump the size of the wooden egg was halfway down the snake.
The NEXT time I checked, the snake and egg were gone. No idea how he managed to haul such a bloated belly out of the nest box, and I have no idea where he went. I expect when the garden vegetation dies back, I’ll find Snake’s carcass and I might be able to retrieve my nest egg.
The moral to this story, however, is: read the ingredients and know what you’re putting into your body.
Update: As of August 2020, the wooden egg has not been seen again.
