Mother's Day Battle Royale

This was right off my deck steps (pre mow and trim)

The garter had been at it for a while and this went on and on. I took my wife to lunch and we never saw them the rest of the day. I don't know who won this contest.

https://i.imgur.com/DIHx9k3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QvcwOAk.jpg

The toad has a really good defense for this type of attack.

https://i.imgur.com/3M5RdDQ.jpg



https://i.imgur.com/epQtnJu.jpg




One day later I discovered somebody hiding out next to the house.

https://i.imgur.com/rYYhhyE.jpg

Semi sad update.

I was mowing the lawn earlier today and I hit a garter (likely this one) with the mower. It was only the tail, but unfortunately I couldn't tell if it was below the vent or not.

I'm rather upset about it. I'm telling myself it will eventually recover and it will just have a stubby back end.

I love having wildlife around my house and go out of my way to coexist with everything.

I'm really hoping it was a lower tail injury with a non crippling recovery.

I have the blades on the 2nd highest setting, and I was surprised this happened.

It happens. I feel like I've gotten better at spotting snakes while on the mower, but sometimes I don't see one.

We've been slowly removing lawn and putting in prairie and other non-lawn plantings. It helps give the wildlife some more space, and saves lawnmower fuel. I see you're in Minneapolis; we lived there for a few years and had no lawn at all -- our small yard was all perennial plants, rockwork, little paths, etc.

I worry about just this thing happening every time I mow the grass here. There's a lot of trees so I usually walk around first to pick up after my dogs & all the sticks. I use a small walk-behind battery-run Greenworks because this place is an obstacle course- no riding mowers here- & I keep a watch for any of my tiny neighbors- I worry about the little snakes & toads & sometimes move them to the safe areas of groundcover. So far I've not hit anything that I know of...I feel for you & hope he's okay. The trouble with humans is the world we make is very rough on wild things.