Visitors - Expected and Unexpected

The expected visitor tonight brought us the Internet! Though in the past we've been able to tap into UD's wireless (when the wind is right and students are sleeping or in class), we decided to officially get it. We are splitting the cost with our neighbors, Joe and Polly, who will be able to tap into our wireless

The unexpected visitor was rather surprising! We just looked out the window and there he was.

It looped itself along our railing, down a pole, out onto the side of the house.  In an attempt to wedge itself between the siding and facia, it fell to the ground and slithered away.  We're not sure what kind of snake it was - most certainly not a rattler, although it did shake it's tale at us violently - it lacked the rattles.  And we're not sure where it came from. Most likely (and a horrid thought indeed!) it was living in the roof of our little patio.  There is a very small gap between the roof and facia - and there have been many tales of other condo dwellers confronting the same creatures crawling from similar locations.  The most well know tale is of a rattler spending several happy years up there, feasting on the young birds whose parents inevitably built their nest in his lair year after year.  Eventually the snake had to be removed by taking apart the roof and extracting him - he had grown too large to fit out the original hole - or so the story goes.  (Disclaimer: everything is bigger in Texas :)