Chat With Suzy : Farm

Snake Encounters

Suzy — Mon, 18 May 2026 19:22:12 GMT

Snakes have gotten a bad rap for no good reason.

Agree? Disagree? Let’s Chat.

Do you love them?

Are you curious about them?

Did someone in your past scare you about them?

Does the thought of them make you want to run and scream?

Have you ever thought about WHY we react the way we do over things we have minimal experience with?

Snakes are often in that category.

When I post anything about a snake on social media, it's common for people to react dramatically with negative words. That’s why I try to share positive aspects about “scary” snakes. (and fun snake pics like these below)

We've been taught to be fearful of them.

We've been taught to kill them.

We've been taught they are evil.

And some religions have taught that snakes embody evil.

BUT snakes are really our FRIENDS!

Casting out superstitions, myths, and fearful stories, let’s share truth!

Most snakes are good.

(Remember Luke Bryan’s song “Most People Are Good”)

Most snakes are good, well-meaning, helpful, useful, and safe.

They eat garden pests and house pests, like insects, grasshoppers, slugs, moles, and field mice.

(somewhere I have a photo I took on the farm, of a garter snake wrapped around a mouse, and eating it…that’s not in the stack below, it’s for another day)

If you leave them alone, they’ll mind their own business of helping you.

If you choose to catch them (to move them to safety) please do so carefully so you don’t get bitten and you don’t hurt the snake.

These snake pics were taken on the farm, of snakes that were caught and moved to safer areas, still on the farm, away from mowers, cats, and unsafety. We often give them a photo opp when they are caught.

Yes, a couple of us have been bitten by a garter who was feeling too handled. But garter teeth are small, with no poison, and are less bothersome than many insects and less health scary than a cat bite.

YES, I know dangerous snakes do exist, (rare in Michigan), but awareness of how they look and act will help a lot. Garter snakes are the most common in our area, with their very obvious yellow stripes, it’s easy to know they are safe snakes. The other snake in the pictures in this post are less commonly seen on the farm, and harder to identify with an untrained eye, but knowing the tell-tale sign of a pointy tail for safe snakes quickly helps. This Eastern Milk Snake tries to look scary with his tail shaking defense, but he’s safe too.

The video below is definitely fun to watch. His tail dance is fun to see when you are not scared of a venom bite. (he’s safe)

It’s highly recommended to know the look of any poisonous snakes in your area, (google will be happy to help) but PLEASE respect the good snakes!

Your lawn and garden really does benefit from them.

Let me share some fun in pictures…..

Well that’s a short farm chat for today. (read rating: 3M 15s)

If you have a few more minutes, go check out those other links.

Here’s a quick link for the front porch at: Chat With Suzy.

Thank you for enjoying our farm photos today! Be sure you leave me your email, and select the Farm News box, so you can get the next round of cute animal pics and farm chats!

So I will bid you adieu for this round of tea, with a virtual hug, I will ask you to…

Come Back Soon!

As Always, Thanks for taking the time to read!

-Suzy

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Farm Life ~ Spring is Baby Time!

Suzy — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:28:44 GMT

In our 2026 American culture where “the store” is the common answer to the question of where your food comes from…..what if we start asking different questions?

I like to promote, encourage, and help empower you to take back your health.

Part of that means a change in the way we think and the questions we ask.

It means being responsible for our own health choices.

Part of that is knowing where your food comes from and how it’s raised.

Taking back your health is a lost art in my generation, but it’s coming back. If you’d like to know more about how to do that and what questions to ask …..join me for today’s chat on the Health tab over HERE.

Back to the pasture!

Why should you want to know? Because there are significant benefits to eating food with more nutrition than the average factory raised American food.

Yes, there has been a LOT of research done on that and the evidence is astounding on the levels of disease prevention that can happen simply by eating nutrient-dense real food.

What’s “real food” and how’s it “nutrient dense”? It’s when you raise plants, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and animal feeds in composted soil, that’s been organically tended, chemical free, and grown in a multi-variety vegetation farming style like the permaculture and sustainability practice promoters have proven makes nutrient density products. It’s animal farming using practices that promote stress-free living for animals who can eat that nutrient-dense pasture filled with a variety of plants and herbs that keep them healthier and more productive.

If you’d like to know more about that research and how to make healthier plants and animals …..join me on the PLANTS tab and the BOOKS tab of this website.

Again, Back to the pasture.

Todays pictures are of sheep on the hillside. The lead pic is late fall when the grass is low and the trees are in full autumn color and it’s time to breed or harvest meat.

The pics below are taken early spring in March of 2026 as the new lambs are being born. These are some birthday pics! (birth - day)

IF YOU are interested in some lamb or sheep meat that’s been raised like I described above, we are taking deposit reservations RIGHT NOW for a limited amount of animals that will be harvested this fall. Lamb is under a year old, and Sheep is over a year old in the definitions. Some people prefer the smaller sized tender meat of the lambs. There is less meat and the bone to meat ratio is higher and the fat content is lower. The sheep meat is still quite tender, with more meat and more fat. Some people prefer the fat for flavor or for use as tallow to make additional products.

If you want to make a deposit in March for a lamb or sheep to be received in the fall,

please contact me directly at: ChatWithSuzy@gmail.com

Make a Deposit ASAP contact me directly at ChatWithSuzy@gmail.com

Well that’s a short chat for today, if you have a few minutes more, go check out those other links.

Here’s a quick link for them both again Health Chats and Book Chats.