Monday, June 25, 2007

Something unexpected in my flowerbed......

This not 'my snake'------I didn't take the time to go get the camera, but it is one just like it.....

One morning last summer, I was up early and out mulching a back flowerbed with pine straw (pine needles). I was down on my hands and knees placing it just so around the flowers......finishing up I realized some was on the walk way. I went into the house, found the broom and began sweeping at the back porch, making my way around the curvy walk. When I got back to where I had been down on my hands and knees in the flower bed, there was a coiled RATTLESNAKE!!!!!!! I knew immediately, without a shadow of a doubt what kind it was.....when you see those rattlers......I had often wondered if I walked up on one would I: have a heart attack, wet my pants, faint or maybe all three.

My only weapon at hand was the broom in my hand...........my husband was in his study away from the house with the air conditioner running. I did what any red blooded woman would do, I began screaming at the top of my lungs....."EEEEEEEDDDDDDWWWWAAAAARRRRRDDDDDDDD! (EDWARD), just knowing he would never hear me....If I left to go get him , the snake would crawl away...........finally he stuck his head out of the door....I managed to say, "rattlesnake." He said what any man would say, "go get the gun." Now I knew where a gun was, but you gotta put something in it, and I had no inkling where any shells were. I remembered a shovel propped against the greenhouse. He grabbed it and came to my rescue.....not a knight on a white stallion....but a husband with a shovel......after several whacks, the snake was no longer a threat......then I remembered hearing that they usually travel in pairs. For several days, I was very leary when walking outside but never saw another one....... I still look at 'the spot' when I walk that way.....God is good....

In another episode, I'll tell you about my armadillo trapping and my sophisticated equipment.....

16 comments:

Susie said...

Eeek! I think I would have run screaming from that snake. You were able to at least point it out to your husband so he could do away with it!
xo

Tracy said...

Oh My! I would have freaked out! You were brave to stay there while your husband came to the rescue!

Trella said...

I would have really freaked out. We have had snakes where we lived before, but it was never anything serious. How ever it freaked me out, and I knew they were harmless. I couldn't imagine how afraid I would have been in your situation and it would have taken me awhile to venture outside.

a Pocket Angel said...

Betty, Oh my gosh! Thank God you are Ok.. What a scary event for you. I too would be watching every step I made outside from now on. Good thing your hubby was home.. I know I could not have killed the snake myself. Take care & stay safe! ~Mary~

Carole Burant said...

Omigosh, a rattlesnake..NOT good! Glad to hear the brave man weilding the shovel was able to dispose of it and rescue his damsel in distress! hehe I've only ever seen a snake once in my yard and that was just a little garter snake...I know we have snakes around here but they don't hang around our yards, thank goodness!! xox

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Oooooh, Betty! I hate snakes too. I'm so glad you were protected from that critter & your hubby killed him. My hubby will kill the poisonous ones too, but he's been known to transport one that is not a threat to the woods nearby.

Rhoda

Anonymous said...

Sometimes a wolf spider will make its way to our house and oh my goodness it aint a pretty site...the spider *and* me! Just one of those deathly fears of something, but it extends to *all* spiders.

If my husband told me to go get the gun my hands would be shaking too much to load it!

btw...very nice blog!

dot said...

Betty, that thing is horrible looking! So glad Edward came to your rescue.
Can't wait to hear about the armadillo trapping!

~Becca~Bluebird Rose said...

We have quite a few snakes around here (we have a creek), and they definitely startle me when I see one -- BUT they are NOT poisonous! That's a different story! I would be very scared!
Glad hubby came to your rescue.
:)

Kelli said...

Oh my goodness! Betty, you were so brave not to faint!! Snakes are so scary and I can't imagine being face to face with a rattler! I'm so glad your husband came to the rescue!
Hugs,
Kelli

Myrna said...

I would probably never go in the yard again! I'm a fairly brave person, but I don't do snakes! Yuk!

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

I do not think that I EVER would go there EVER again..wow I have always wondered what would happen if I found one here and you know that could happen anytime here just like it did at your house!! Oh my!! You were brave to just stay there. I am not sure I could have just stayed. I am very very scared of those things. Sandy

Rachel said...

A rattlesnake!! Oh my!! I'm glad your husband came quickly with the shovel and took care of that snake!!

No, we never know what we'll do in those situations!! Sounds like you did the right thing!!!

Barbara said...

Oh! Betty
reminds me of a time when I was staying alone in a friends house in Kentucky. I had invited friends to visit from Ohio. Soon after they arrived I came across a snake in a large plant pot that had ben brought in for the Winter. She knew what to do and all IU could think of was the fact that I had been in the house alone with a snake and not known.

weirdbunny said...

We only have one poisonous snake in Britain an adder, and it's a protected speices so your not allowed to kill it. We pnly have 2 snakes in our area, the posionous adder and the non poisionous grass snake. The adder only grows to about half a metre, but the grass snake grows to a full metre.

I saw a grass snake a couple of weeks ago basking on a peice of cardboard next to the compost heap. We usually get a grass snake laying her eggs in the compost heap each year.

Ruth said...

Oh my goodness! I'm glad you came out of that confrontation unscathed (except for your heart palpitations)! For some reason my computer is showing me all your pictures on your other entries except this one. I'll come back later to see if they will show up.