Monday, March 12, 2012

#220 - SO, I MADE A LITTLE PIT STOP!

BACK IN SEPTEMBER I PROMISED MORE SNAKE STORIES
 SO HERE IS THE NEXT INSTALLMENT


"You would have thought she learned a lesson from her experience in 1968.  
But apparently, with the passage of time,
 her brain does not process old lessons into useable knowledge. If you didn't
read that post, here is the link.  Just click on it."


I was living in Missouri, again, after moving my children and myself from California.  I had been divorced for about 7 years and had purchased my first house.  I was so proud of myself and so proud of my new property.  The house sat on 3 1/2 acres of land in a small rural town of about 6,000 people.  The house had once been a farm house which was built back in the early 40s.  It was sturdy, well built, had two bedrooms, a very large front room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom.


One Saturday morning in 1977 I was out front doing yard work.  There was a lot of that kind of work to be done on my new place, but I was joyfully mowing, cutting, trimming and in general doing a bang up job preening my new home.


Plopping down in front of a crepe myrtle (a beautiful plant by the way) I started to pull weeds and trim around the base of one of the myrtles.  Out darted this cute little snake about 6 inches long and about as big around as my pinkie.  I quickly slapped my ungloved hand down and caught it by the back of the neck.  At the time I was thinking, that my son, Gene, would probably like to have a pet snake (de' ja vous).


Fortunately, (not necessarily for them) there were some men across the street in my neighbor's back yard.  They were digging a pit in which to fashion a storm shelter.


I walked across the street and into the yard with my newly acquired friend dangling from the thumb and forefinger of my right hand.  I stepped up to the edge of the hole (which was about 6 x 6 x 6) held my hand out over the pit (great choice of words, right?) and asked, "Do any of you guys know what kind of snake this is?" (Nope, as my friend said at the beginning of this post, I didn't learn a thing from before).

Other than at a sporting event, have you ever seen men jump six feet into the air, up and over an obstacle?  Well, I had the pleasure of seeing 2 men levitate almost straight up and out of that hole in a split second.  This not being the big city, but being a town with a church on almost every corner, they weren't shouting obscenities.   It went more this, "Dang lady!"  "Woah there, girl!"   "For heaven's sakes, woman!"

Yes, you guessed it.  I had found another Copperhead.  Only, this time it was a baby.  Yes, it had a beautiful pattern but it was more black and grey and did not have the bright copper color as yet.  But, I was puzzled by their reaction to this cute little guy/gal until one of them calmed down enough to tell me that the little guys were almost as venomous as the big ones.




"Are you reading this, Sisssssy?
Can you believe that she has gone and done it...
 AGAIN?"
At that point I became concerned.  Here, I had it by it's neck.  I didn't want it back in my yard because of my children and pets.  In fact, I didn't want to turn it loose at all.  That is when my neighbor suggested that I just go into the street, drop it and run.  He would then chop it into pieces with his shovel.  So, that is what we did.  I dropped the sucker and ran.  He chopped away and dispatched it post haste.


My neighbor stood there for a minute and staired at me (by that time I was up on my porch).  He smiled, shook his head, turned, and headed back to his yard.  For months, when ever he saw me he would smile and shake his head.


And this is not then end of my snake stories.  I have at least two more coming up in the next month or so.
See if you can pick them by the coming attractions I will end each post with.



NEXT MONDAY WATCH FOR:
#221-PETS LEAVE THE STRANGEST GIFTS 
#222-THE PARTY PLANNER
#223-SLOSHED!

kt 8/11



12 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you were okay! I can see myself doing something like that LOL!

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  2. A few years ago while weeding a bed of day lilies I ran into it's full grown cousin. Scared the beejeezus outta me.

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  3. A wonderfully told tale, and I'd never have guessed the sweet little baby you described was another highly venomous Copperhead! I'm not at all brave where snakes are concerned. I'd never pick one up! They make every hair on the back of my neck stand bolt upright so I would no doubt have levitated too! You are uncanny, Karen. You and Melynda are so much alike and the only two people I know who'd both do something like this. I can't wait to hear the next in the sequel of ssssssssssssnaky talessssssssssssss. I'll probably dream about snakes tonight. Yes, I have nightmares about snakes!

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  4. A snake is a snake is a ......SNAKE.
    We do not have any poisonous snakes round here - just ltl garden snakes and some bigger green n black/bluish ones, but not harmful. Now, if you're talking about snarly coyotes, bears, moose, then we do not, NEVER, bring those home or even look for em, because they sneak up on you. Moose are really nasty creatures when provoked and mostly during their "Bloomin' Season :)". Well KT, I guess you'll recognize them eventually - I wouldn't have known either and would have thought - "Oh what a darlin little pet" ha,ha

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  5. Please tell me it's Sloshed! Please? Kt I would say only you but as you know this would be a lie. I've done similar things. After all our blogs would be pretty boring it we didn't do this crap! haha

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  6. EEEGADS...I do NOT like snakes so it gave me the heebie jeebies just reading about your 'find'...one thing we have here in NC is copperheads and beleive me, I'm always on the look out!

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  7. Not into snakes at all. I just don't trust the little suckers. My Dad, on the other hand, would often pick one up and drop it in his pocket. One time he put one in his one of his desk drawers at work. He was a manager of quality control. One of his coworkers came into Dad's office, when Dad wasn't there, and started going through the desk drawers looking for something to eat. (He often did this and Dad decided to teach him a lesson) Well, he opened the drawer with the snake, which hissed and raised up. The man fell backwards, fell over the desk chair, yelling, swearing, blubbering and almost crying. He scurried out of there so fast that everyone was amazed at his movement. Dad, however, was holling with laughter.

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  8. I have to tell ya sister, I kinda got the heebie jeebies when I read ya pick the fella up! Ewwwwww, 'don't like snakes. In fact I think they are all of the devil...they give me the willies.

    Yap, I know...I've heard all the speeches 'bout good snakes vs. bad. I want nothin' to do with 'em.

    I've accidentally touched two and believe I had to change my bloomers both times! Heeehehehhee!

    It was good bumpin' into ya today.

    God bless ya and have yourself a blessed and beautiful day now, ya hear!!! :o)

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  9. Did you ever come across his brothers and sisters? I know that they are not usually born alone, because I saw a nest full of them once. Thankfully, it sounds like they slithered away!

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  10. gma remember when I used to run over snakes while mowing your lawn and i screamed like a little girl every time. lol

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