Since I joined the world of the internet I have entertained the members of my groups with my encounters with snakes. I don't know if they believed any of the stories, or maybe even thought I was exaggerating them. I have never had proof of the encounters. Now it is the digital age and my camera is never very far from me.
I now have proof. Seeing is believing.
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| COPPERHEAD SNAKE WITHOUT HIS/HER HEAD Today has been one of those days where lots of different things have happened. The first thing was our new dog decided he would use the wading pool we had filled for him 3 days ago. If I had the camera I wouldn't have been able to use it. He was flinging water every where. He was putting his head under water and blowing bubbles. He flipped on his back trying to get totally under the water. We had hoped it would work to keep him from taking his mud bath. Looks like it might. This is the story of his mud baths. http://pitbulladog.blogspot.com/2014/06/spa-day-at-farm.html When he came in he was running around with his nose to the floor and started yapping. Since he has been here the cats haven't had the run of the house. They are still hiding, rarely coming out. Looks like when the cat's away the mice will play. He had a mouse cornered. He wanted to play with it. He was not going to harm it. I looked out tonight to see if it was a full moon, because strange happenings and the close encounter with the slithering kind. For those of you not versed in herpetology, the above snake can be a very nervous snake and is poisonous. For years the only snakes I have seen close to the barn are the garter snakes, black snakes and prairie king snakes. The later two snakes eat copperhead snakes. The last encounter I had with a copperhead was about 3 years ago, in the pasture, when I was mowing I had one wrap itself around the mower blades and stall the mower. I backed up thinking it was a grass plug. I figured I would knock it loose (normally I climb off the mower and put my hand under the cowl to pull the weed mass out.) Instead out crawled a copperhead, who was well over 3 feet and was at least an inch fatter than the above snake. I turned the mower on and mowed him/her into a zillion pieces. Nothing left to get the camera for. Tonight I hurried down to feed the chickens. It was getting dark. It was still light enough to see the path but not to distinguish anything. I opened the door to the coop, the snake was 3 feet inside the door to the left. It was in the shadow of the feed buckets. If it hadn't been gyrating I would not have seen it against the brown dirt of the floor (we have clay floors in the coop). It was gyrating because it was working on getting down a mouse it had caught. I grabbed the cell phone and didn't move. The snake was watching me and I didn't want it crawling off under the pallets the feed buckets were on. I dialed Hunny and get this message. I hang up and try again and he answers. It was like he didn't believe me. I told him I couldn't get past the snake to grab the shovel he needed to bring the 22 down and get down here fast. (Geesh, he even asked me if I was sure it was a copperhead.) My heart is beating really hard at this point. There is an old wives tale that copperheads travel in pairs. I would like to say, those tales have their basis in peoples experiences. Previously I have had a slithering engagement with a pair of them, in the same place at the same time. I am standing on a pallet outside the door with the weeds all around me and it's dark enough now, you can't see your feet. Can you spell nervous, I'm thinking about them traveling in pairs. I know I can't move, I am only reassured I am safe because the snake's mouth is full. I am sure it was only 2 minutes before Hunny showed up, but it seemed like forever. When he came around the corner with the gun I moved aside and he went in, and he couldn't see the snake. I hollered, "Its on your left on the dirt". At that time the snake perceived the threat and literally turned tail and ran. Hunny shot two shots at the tail, he couldn't get a visual of the head. The "D" snake disappeared under the pallet with the feed buckets on it. We had to lift everything off and hope it hadn't escaped through the wall. I used the pitchfork to pry up the pallet. The adrenalin surge and nerves are making me nauseous. Hunny hollers, "Hold Still." and fires 3 shots completely destroying the head and the mouse hanging out of it. We put the snake in a Breyers Ice cream container to bring it up to take the picture. We recycle ice cream containers for scoops and for picking cocktail tomatoes in. Needless to say that carton is now trashed. After the picture was taken, we put the snake on the back porch to see if the raccoons would like an appetizer. I looked out thirty minutes later and the snake was gone. Copperheads have a distinct smell. Previously in some of my encounters I have smelled them, but this is a chicken coop, there are plenty aromas to mask the snake's smell. I'm glad it is bedtime and I don't have to have anymore encounters. Well, that might not be true, I just remembered the live bluetail skink my cat brought in and was under my pillow. Normally I don't fluff the pillow when I get in bed. That night though I wanted to sit up and read. I needed the pillow vertical to lean against. Now it is a routine to fluff the pillow every night! Tomorrow is my birthday, I hope I don't get anymore surprises. Other blog sites by me:
Chronicling our adventures with a dumped Pit Bull Pup who has become a hidden treasure.
A blog mostly about quilting,
cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening, Tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts. Check out "A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING" A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind.
blogs about the wildflowers on our farm
Organic methods we use, some cooking and some poetry,
blogs about Seed sprouting, insects, and garden pictures
Blog about an endangered beneficial beetle
All recipes, pictures, and writings are my own.
I give credit for items which belong to other people in my blogs .
Please do not copy without permission
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