(I figured I would spell it out in the title so those disinclined toward serpents could skip this post.) My eagle-eyed eldest spotted something in the backyard and informed me that there was a snake out there eating something. I grabbed the snake grabber and went to investigate, but it was just a plain bellied water snake eating a toad, no venomous beastie (I did get the ID from the experts on “What Snake is This? North Texas Educational Group on FB). I’m a little sad for the toad, as we seem to be down to one backyard toad and one garage toad, but it was really cool to watch the snake. We kept the dogs inside as the snake lay by our patio table waiting for the toad to deflate so it could finish the process of swallowing it. We would check on it at intervals (and take pictures), and finally the poor pups couldn’t cross their legs anymore so we put them on leashes to go do their business. The snake, full and sluggish, eventually slid out of the yard. It took two hours, but the serpent was eventually able to finish its very large meal!