I’m in the process of installing new kitchen windows. For the last few years there have been some ugly recycled windows in the holes, put there mostly because I was tired of looking at “hippie window”, the clear PVC sheeting often used around here as a temporary measure until real windows can be installed. I got the used windows at Urban Ore in Berkeley and tacked them in as-is, lead paint, flaking glazing putty and all. I thought they’d be there six months at most.

Read more about dead flies and whether or not I should have window sills

When I was a kid, one of my favorite shows was Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with naturalist Marlin Perkins. As a suburban but nature-loving kid, I was fascinated by the crew’s adventures doing what, in retrospect, amounted to going out and aggressively harassing wild animals in exotic places. Look, for example, at most of these “classic” clips from the original show.

While I wasn’t exactly wrestling anacondas into submission at my place today, I did encounter a rather odd selection of wildlife for one day. First was a Northwest Ringneck snake, whose belly coloration is the same as the survey paint I was using. I posted the photo with the spraycan on Facebook, claiming that I’d painted the snake. I was hoping to get some outraged comments, but I’ve got too many wildlife-geek friends and they busted me right away.

(most likely) Northwest Ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus occidentalis