Bugs and snakes, oh my

It was an interesting evening tonight outside. We were hanging out in the backyard and Sandy kept pawing at a small spot in the grass and backing off. I thought perhaps there was a "June bug" in the grass as Sandy has shown an interest in the flying bugs. She likes to catch them and run over to the grass and drop them and then she can't find them again. I didn't see any. Next I thought that perhaps she was playing with some grass/weeds that I had just cut with a scythe, but no. On closer inspection, there was a tiny brown snake about 3 inches long and about 1/8 inch thick at its widest in the grass. I promptly removed the little snake and relocated it. Sandy was disappointed that I took away her plaything but oh well.

We did play stick a bit earlier in the evening and she brought the stick to me a couple of times when I whistled to her. I was able to toss it and she ran around with it in her mouth. She came back with it 2 or 3 times, so perhaps I should review those handouts from training class on "leave it" and get her to do that with the stick so we could turn it into fetch.