Cleaning the patio the other evening after a blistering day of 105 temps…we are expecting guests, so I thought I should probably clean up the dog poop near the patio. I am in flip flops and shorts…its still pretty stinkin’ hot…but the sun is starting to set and our guests are due to arrive in about an hour. I hike myself over the railing to the dog poop area and start cleaning up the turds off the ground. I wrap up the bag because the smell is killing me and I start back over the railing back onto the patio. As I swing my leg over, I see movement in the corner of my eye.
Snake.
Big mother fuckin’ snake.
Coiled up underneath my plant stands…he feels secure, he’s not worried a bit that I am looking down at him. I sit like a do-do bird on the railing…and call out sweetly to my husband. He knows this tone in my voice, something is wrong. “What is it?” he answers as he comes running toward the glass slider. SNAKE! “What kind?” he asks…THE BAD KIND.
Using a shovel and a small hoe we (ok not WE…HE) pulled it away from the plant stands as it reared up and shook its 14 rattles. I have never heard this sound before, and it was less than 6 feet away from us. My husband grabbed his rifle and shot…and it was over.
My neighbor yells, YOU OK? We reply, “Yes…SNAKE!” DID YOU GET HIM? “Yep!” (thank GOD)
The heat has been pretty bad the past week, but today it started pouring rain unexpectedly. Not just rain, but thunder, strong winds and hail too. Its glorious. There is a river running across the bottom of our property, you could take a canoe ride…if you had a canoe of course.
If tomorrow is bearable I will see if I can transplant some of the oleanders, that would be fantastic. If so, I will post about the project!
Long Ranch on the Hill 