We'll Call Him Marvin

While we were moving into the new place, we discovered a few places where animals could enter. They were fixed, but Nature always finds a way. Sometimes in the form of a beautifully long black rat snake.

We got word that there was a guest and he had gotten ridden of our vermin problem. Being an artist that works predominantly paper, I am more than happy to know I won't find a few little furry guests in my things no matter how cute I think they are.

One of the other artists had gone into the garage area to fetch something and found our guest stretched out on the warm cement in the shade. I can imagine the scream she let out was funny. Luckily she is someone who sees the need for such snakes in the ecosystem and her and another artist managed to get him in a bucket and transported to the woods outside. (Yes, those same woods.)

Unfortunately no one managed to get a picture of the snake, but I heard he was a beauty and very nice to work with. As that story was told, another artist told a story from the gardens she use to work at. When there was a black snake in a public area, there would be page telling everyone where "Marvin" was.

Now we call the snake Marvin. He must still be there because its been weeks since anyone has seen signs of a mouse.

Not long after Marvin was released back into Nature, an email came out to the people using the building. An artist was leaving late one night and saw a man just standing at the tree line between our building and the old passenger station now hair salon. She quickly got into her car and left.

The same artist that found the snake was closing up in the afternoon one day and there was a man standing at the fence that blocks the back parking lot from the woods that lead to the chemical facility. Being someone who has dealt with the worst of humanity, she politely asked if she could help him. He shook his head no and just kept staring ahead of him.

Maybe one good deed has given another. We haven't seen or heard that other thing since.