I was doing some clean-up work in the garden today. As I was pulling spent bean vines (minding my own business, don't you know), I saw what looked like a great big worm. I can be kind of slow, but eventually I figured out that it was a snake.
A snake in my garden! Under my dadgum bean vines. Right beside my hand! And, if this weren't bad enough, he was leering at me. I tell you what, that snake had his nerve, invading my garden, eating my bugs, leering at me!
What is this world coming to, when an innocent person, (who is minding their own business), can't go out into the lovely world that God has so generously created for us, without encountering bugs, rodents, and reptiles? I've had my share of these creatures all summer long; all I needed to complete the trio was to see a snake. I'm complete now; the snake I've seen. There he was, hiding under the bean vines, (which were huge, by the way), slithering along in a concrete block, looking for all manner of things to eat, and he looked at me like I had the nerve to mess up "his" day, by tearing down all of his lovely bean vines. What makes creatures think that they can just trespass on someone's property and lolly-gag around, doing whatever, without a care in the world, la-di-da?
So, I'll tell you what I did; I grabbed me a big stick, crept up on him from behind, (although this was hard to do, because he kept squirming around), and got ready to "whomp" the tar out of him. Then I got to thinking, "Wait a minute. Didn't I read somewhere that the bees and butterflies pollinate the vegetables and flowers. The toads, bats, and the lizards eat all the creepies. And the snakes catch vermin!"
Let's see, let me think about this a minute; (you remember I told you from the first that I was not the sharpest tool in the shed?) Hmmm, a snake in the garden might not be such a bad thing after all. Let's add up all the reasons why I should not whomp this bugger, right where he slithers.
All of that said, I just couldn't bring myself to whomp him, he was just too little and cute. Problem was, I didn't know if he was poisonous or not. I'm not a snake expert, and he couldn't talk to tell me whether I needed to worry or not. I certainly didn't want my dear husband (who is getting on up in years, and not able to swiftly get out of the way, poor thing!) to get bitten by what might, or might not be a poisonous reptile.
So, I bravely, and with great trepidation, lunged at him, grabbed him by the tail, and whisked him with lightening speed into a soft-drink cup. Now, this is probably not the best thing in the world to keep a possibly poisonous reptile in, but out in the wilderness, you do what you have to do, to accomplish the task at hand. I did manage to find some screen-wire and rubber bands to secure the top of the cup. This wilderness was maybe not quite so void of some needed items, it seems.
Well, to make a long story short, we took Elmer, (the baby snake) up to my brother-in-law's house. We were told that he was just a chicken snake. He wouldn't hurt you, they actually make good pets, and so forth and so on. We took him home to show JoAnna, and then let the poor little creature go forth back out into the wilderness, to do what snakes do.
Ok, ok, this is what really happened: I took him out to show him to my daughter, and he took one look at freedom, and jumped right out of my hands, and took off like a streak of brown and tan lightning, vvvrrrroooooommmmm!
Oh well, I've got vermin up here that need to be eaten too.
By one.of.a.kind from AL
This is such a cute story. I have an uncle who studies snakes and also my next door neighbor loves them, but I am too squeamish about encountering them in the wild! I am glad you didn't whomp him :)
What a FANTASTIC adventure and a delightful story teller you are! Reminds me when we were little and our parents worked in a garden and we played with daddy long legs and garter snakes!
Snakes are very beneficial. My father stops to grab black snakes when driving down the road instead of running over them. He puts them in his barn or shed or a neighbors barn or shed. Black snakes not only eat rodents, but they also eat poisonous snakes like copper heads and water moccasins. A black snake or two, maybe a garden snake, or a chicken snake would make nice additions to any garden/farm.
Thanks for the fantastic story presented in this post. Not only is it interesting, it is very educational. Can't say I would want snakes around, but glad to know so many are so beneficial to our gardens, etc. I learned a lot from this post. Thanks so much.
