Apparently the garter snakes at Narcisse Snake Dens are having an extra long nap this year.They are normally starting to move around by the 4th weekend in April, but this year aren’t expected to be moving until the beginning of May. From what I hear it is an amazing spectacle to see the slithering snakes during this mating season. It is estimated close to 70,000 red sided garter snakes come to Narcisse every spring. I say ‘from what I hear’ because that is as close as I personally plan to get to the snake dens. A very, very small piece of me would like to go up and see them, but a very, very huge piece of me wants absolutely no part of it. But I know there a lot of people that just don’t agree with me because Narcisse is a very popular tourist attraction at this time of year. There is a lot of information at this website http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/managing/snakes_status.html. It even says the interpretive staff will show you the proper way to handle a snake and let you pick one up. If you have ever wondered how to tell the sex of a snake that website is the place to go and did you know that a snake could have up to 40 babies? Wow, no wonder there are so many snakes around.

Good news for anyone that was worried. The slushees and iced cappuccinos passed our rigorous testing procedure this weekend.