Tuesday, August 29, 2017

A gardening experience


Hi everyone.....I'm now sick so I can't see my mom. We had a brief scare yesterday as she was sent back to the hospital, but they did the tests and she is aok and back at her home. I think, due to her difficult breathing, she will soon be in a wheelchair. It is too difficult for her to walk down the long hall to her room. The good news is that someone does exercises everyday with the people.

I have read some experiences people have had with animals and thought I would add my own. This took place back in the 80's ...I think the late 80's but my memory is turning menopausal. My brother's first wife started a garden and after a year, stopped, so I decided to take it over. The first year went well except for my mom stealing all the lettuce leaves. I thought it was a rabbit or a deer but I caught my mom who was the true varmint. I covered the garden with an old pool tarp so I would have little weed pulling the next spring.

That spring, I put my rubber boots on, my garden hat and went out to start the garden. I started to take the tarp away when I heard this swishing sound. My curiosity was aroused and I moved the tarp again and saw something move underneath it. I was hooked and felt like I was in some jungle ready to find some rare animal. I pulled the tarp back and there lay this large black ugly snake. It was fat and it was long, I would say it was about 5 ft...I'm not kidding. I had never seen it before but I knew one thing...it was ugly. I was used to garter snakes but this was no garter snake.

Did I run? Oh no, I was thinking I was Marlin Perkins from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdomor rather Jim, the poor doofus who always did the hard crap. I took my rake and started to push the snake, let's call him Herman, to see what the snake would do. Can we say "Dumb Ass!" I nudged Herman again who suddenly, reared his head in an upright position looking at me. Now I, let's call me idiot, thought I was far enough back (I was) that he can't strike me so I nudged poor Herman again. Quicker than you can say blonde bimbo idiot, he struck so fast that any notion of working with anything wild evaporated.

I ran, with my arms and hands outstretched like the blonde twit that I am, my rubber boots almost falling off, towards the house, got inside and breathed a sigh of relief. I escaped Herman and his unhappy view of this blonde idiot. I called my neighbour who came with his tractor and looked all around but Herman was gone. I had never seen this type of snake before or after but my ex, who is a snake lover, said it was probably a rat snake since we had a creek behind our home.

So went my adventure between Herman and the Idiot. Geez, rereading this you would think I was writing some porn film.



37 comments:

  1. I was visiting my friend John on his farm when I was about ten, IIRC. We saw a snake in his field, and ended up chasing it and killing it. It wasn't until later that John I confessed that we'd both been absolutely terrified, but each of us assumed that the other was used to snakes and so neither of us had dared to show our fear.

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    1. I feel sorry for the snake actually. I think it sounds like you were both terrified

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  2. At one of our homes in Maryland, we had a couple of very large black snakes who visited our backyard. X knew what they were and knew they would return unless they were killed. He and Favorite Young Man did the deed while I hid in the house. I don't know why so many snakes hung out in that area, but they could be seen literally hanging from the trees at times.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Omg!! Seeing snakes hang from trees would freak me out. Yes they do Return so I was happy never to have seen this snake again

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  3. I'm glad I haven't seen a snake at all in my yard...yet

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  4. Were you in a place with venomous snakes? If you are, I would have run as well.

    We get huge black snakes here (upstate-ish New York), the most common I think are King Snakes. Totally harmless, and actually kind of friendly if you run into them while hiking or gardening.

    Funny story: My mother is from Ireland, where there are no snakes. Her first year here in the States, she came across a snake in the basement and called 911. She was so hysterical on the phone they couldn't really understand what was wrong, so 2 police cars, an ambulance, and pretty much the town's entire fire department showed up at the house. By then the snake was gone.

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    1. I live near Niagara Falls Ont. so no real venomous snakes here except for the Massassuga rattler which I have never seen. Your story about your mom is funny

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  5. Eeek. I would freak if I saw a snake. (I bet it was warm under the tarp, hence why it went there.) I would have been running into the house immediately without disturbing the beast.

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  6. Hi, BB!

    You got an unexpected thrill from gardening, didn't you? I am not clear on what happened when you proceeded to poke the snake. When you wrote that it "struck," do you mean that it bit you or simply lunged at you? It seems likely that you awoke a hibernating rat snake and it was too groggy to move at first and then became agitated when you continued to poke and prod. Black rat snakes are common down here. We have seen them on our property for years. When it gets warm enough in spring, around late May, they emerge from their underground dens and come to the surface. Large nests of them can be found in garden beds. Rat snakes are nonvenomous and beneficial and therefore we try not to disturb them or harm them with the riding mower.

    Thank you for sharing your story, BB. I'm sorry to learn that you are under the weather and that your mother had another recent episode. We had 13 inches of rain here in a 48 hour period and I needed to be out and about in the awful weather, got soaked to the skin and wound up with a sore throat.

    Get well soon, dearie, and thank you for the wonderful comment on my blog!

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    1. I think it was a rat snake as you said and no it didn't bite me but just struck. I think you're right that I woke it up. I would not like all those snakes near me...kind of freak me out actually. I. Sorry you are not feeling too well but hope you are getting better

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  7. I laughed at the picture of you running in a flap with your boots falling off! Sorry. More to the point, get well soon.

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  8. I wish you speedy recovery and warm greetings to you and family. Hang in there.

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  9. Hope you get to feeling better soon, Birgit.
    I so do not appreciate snakes.

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  10. Thankfully I've never run into one that large. I guess you didn't think the old saying "don't poke the bear" applied to big snakes lol

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  11. I only see garter snakes in my garden. They don't bother me. But many years ago I was sitting on the patio with my husband and heard this distressing moan. I told him it sounded like an animal in pain. He went searching the garden beds and found a snake with a large bulge. He said it was probably the animal inside it dying. Ugh! You are one brave blond bimbo, Lol.

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    1. Ick...it was probably the mouse or possum that groaned when the snake was swallowing it

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  12. If my wife spotted a snake in our yard we'd probably have to move. Fortunately, there aren't many snakes in our corner of Oregon.

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    1. I would never live in a place with poisonous snakes...ever!

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  13. Hoping you and your mom are on the mend soon! I'd never go into that garden again; I'd be afraid Herman would make another appearance

    betty

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    1. I'm still sick and the news is not good about my mom

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  14. Yikes!!! I hate snakes. That is frightening. You told the story great: I could just see you and "Herman" and the whole incident unfolding. Wow.
    I had a rattlesnake at my front door last year. That was a trip. I did a blog post about it. I called Animal Control and they came and took him away: but as the girl was walking away with the rattler safely in the bag, all of the sudden I see the snake coming out the bottom of her bag! She had a dang hole in the bag!!! I yelled and she jumped and grabbed it with her snake-catching tool (tongs) and got a bucket from her truck and secured him in that. Whew! That was a close call: could've been an escape and I would've been uneasy forever!

    Hey, I'm glad to hear that your Mom is doing better. I know what you mean about your Mom not being able to walk long hallways. I just moved my Mom here and got her set up in an apartment. It's a big complex and she has a long way to walk to get her mail and take the trash to the compactor so we (brother, SIL) went and got her a power wheelchair. She's getting used to using it. It's scary for her but she's getting the hang of it. It's just a learning curve and the more she uses it, the better control she has.
    Isn't it just awful watching our aging parents? I hate it! I so want to turn the clock back...

    Hang in there! Sending you a big hug.

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. Thank you and glad you enjoyed my story. I'm still sick and some more sad news about my mom. Your mom will get used to the wheelchair. Hug her as much as you can. Getting old is not sure sissies

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  15. Gosh! That's a scary experience, Birgit! Glad to hear your Mom's recovering.

    I've had my experiences with snakes. One of the houses we lived in had this jungle-like backyard and the ground was covered in leaves, this particular summer afternoon. I thought I saw something move in the leaves, and yes, feeling quite brave, prodded it with a stick. It moved even faster--looked like it was trying to exit one hole in the ground and moving into another one. Well, I was in 7th grade and invincible, and tried to lift it. All I saw was its tail finally disappearing into the hole. Of course i ran and told my grandma and then the neighbor also freaked out. Sure enough, we saw a snake charmer in the vicinity and he came in and managed to catch the snake. Well.... it was a cobra. Will never forget the aftermath of that experience - i got properly scolded and got to hear all the what-ifs...should the cobra have chosen to pay attention to me.

    Hugs! I hope you feel better soon. ❤

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    1. Omg!! Ok your cobra beats my rat snake any day. I'm glad it didn't turn on you and that your mom scolded you.

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  16. Hi BB - at least rat snakes aren't poisonous ... but they can be huge and I'm not a happy bunny (or human!) around them. Equally Herman must be doing a good job for you ... and I'm sure will stay away from you - you just need to keep a wary eye out! I do hope your mother will settle in and use a wheel chair - while take care of yourself ... cheers Hilary

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    1. This happened long ago and the place has long since been our of our hands. I'm still sick and my mom...is not well

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  17. I would have done the same thing. Snakes scare me!

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  18. I would probably have poked at it, too. Why? Because it's there and I want it to move along. Git, Snake, Git. A great story, Birgit! I hope you're feeling better. You need to take good care of yourself as you venture in this new adventure with your mom. Big Hugs, Lady.

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    1. I was poking it to see what it would do not to have it go away....yup, not smart but so glad I don't live in a place with poisonous snakes. I'm still ill and more sadness with my mom.

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