And you though I would never tell. But I couldn’t leave you all hanging on just waiting to hear about my first Copperhead experience at our home (note I didn’t say my first experience with a snake, just my first time at our home.) Here goes…
Cue up the beautiful spring day, just perfect as I remember it. I decided I would clean up the back yard. See back then we had lots of trees out there, about 30 or so. The lady that lived in the house before us had some brick stacked out in the middle of the yard. I think she was planning on making a b-b-que pit with it or something.
I did some raking and some mowing and was determined to move all those bricks behind the shed where they were out of my eye site and not in my way. I got the wheelbarrow and with my dainty little girl gloved hands begin moving the bricks. I laid them out flat behind the shed in a pretty little brick pattern. Well what did you expect, I didn’t want to see them stacked up so I sure wasn’t going to stack them back up.
I was working away and found some ants, horrible little things. Once they settled down I was back at it only from the other side of the stack; the side that had already fallen, who knows when, and they were just laying in a jumbled pile. I moved one brick and got movement. Eww gross, must have been a worm or one of those slugs. You know the kind you put salt on and watch ‘em melt into goo or til you get totally grossed out or bored. I went in the house to get the salt, cause that is what we do to slugs in Texas. Slugs are not pets PETA!
So I’m out there by the pile of bricks fixing to pour out some salt and Whaoo! That’s not a slug. Crap it’s not even a worm. Oh super double crap it’s a snake. Let me rephrase that. It was not just a snake but a whole den of baby copperheads (greenish tails) and the devoted mother was there too. Ah how sweet. NOT! Well I very cautiously backed up. Because that is what my daddy always told me to do every time I found a snake, and I sure hopped it was true for a crap load of 'em too.
Once I felt pretty sure I was backed up far enough I ran in the house, never to return to the back yard again. Well at least that is what I proclaimed when my beloved got home from work.
At first he thought they were most likely little garden snakes but I assured him I had plenty of experience in finding snakes on accident and that was a den of copperheads. I was sure of it. NO I was more then sure I was totally positive.
Snake lovers are hereby advised to stop reading and PETA people eaters leave me alone already! We get a can of gasoline, hey it was cheap then, what maybe a dollar fifteen a gallon. Anyway my Beloved had the can I had a shovel we mosey over to the pile he kicked the bricks and there they were. A giante snake bed, he poured some gas and grabbed the shovel from me, and choppy, choppy there goes mamma’s head. Then the flame popped up and I think some of those babies got away. Dangit
Which is probably where the one at our back door came from and the grand child was at our front door. Or I guess they all could’ve been Corn Snakes like Karen thinks, but still not wanted in my yard!
And next time I want to talk snakes I’ll tell you about the time... well I have lots more snake finding stories. But I only have the nerve to re-tale them one at a time and this is enough for now. You know it almost seems like just when I get over my last snake incident a new one pops up.
6 comments:
Snakes! Ugh-O!
And clapping for the previous owner, who left the pile of bricks there. To fall and make a lovely nesting area. Not!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........
Aunt Amelia
I think if ever I were to come across a snake nest, especially in my yard, I would probably go into an immediate dead faint! Don't know that I'd have thought of the gasoline but sounds like a right good method since you mentioned it!
I hate, hate, hate snakes! Any kind! I don't care if they are "only" garter snakes or if they are diamond back rattlers, pet pythons -whatever. I Do. Not. Abide. Snakes! Only good snake I've ever seen is a dead one! PETA be damned!
I would still be running like my hair was on fire!
Wow, you can put salt on a slug for fun/ I never knew that.
Not that I'm going to do it.
But I would take a snake's life if I had to.
I killed a rat, in a trap. And havne't lost any sleep yet over it. Does tha tmake me a bad human being?
ca-rap. I grew up in the country and have had way too many experiences with snake but have never found a den of them. I would have wet my pants.
You're like Jimmy...if he sees a snake it will soon be a dead snake unless I can get to it first and relocate it to a more suitable location.
I once wrote a poem about a snake. It's posted in one of my earlier blog posts somewhere. Here it is:
LittleSnake
Did you ever stop and talk to a snake
And ask it why it crawls?
Did you ever wonder if it's lonely
Cause no one ever comes to call?
People run and they scream, at its sight
And try to kill it dead.
No wonder that poor little snake
Feels a sense of dread.
He tries to hiss and tell them
That he won't hurt them none.
But they won't stop and listen
Until his life is done.
By Margo S. Wallace
Paige...I did enjoy your snake story and would love to hear more of them. I've just never been afraid of snakes because my dad always let me have the snakes that I found as pets. I do have respect for the poisonous ones and try to give them their space, but if there are children involved then the snake loses (if it's poisonous).
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