It was a very relaxing evening at home last fall. Still warm out, this is Arizona, so we had the back door open with the screen shut to keep in our little precocious 8 pound poodle. Two of my three children were home watching TV with me. Chip was out. My then 18 year old daughter walked by the back door to see what our poodle was barking at. There coiled, rattling and ready to strike was a four foot long rattlesnake angry and wanting the dinner spotted on the other side of the screen door.
Daughter screams. I jump up calmly, sure that it is just a black snake. I wanted to show my girls how to deal with nature in the right way when it comes a knockin’.
NOT A BLACK SNAKE. Mom reflexes acutely in tune, I slam the sliding glass door shut and LOCK IT!
My other daughter starts laughing. “Nice Mom” she says, “Lock the door so the snake can’t get in.” If looks could kill she would have been 6 feet under.
I called the local fire department. The dispatcher asked me to keep an eye on it. That was not a problem until it moved away into the grass. Was I or anyone else I loved going to go in the backyard to “keep an eye on it?” Not in this lifetime. The dispatcher sent out the poor fireman that must have drawn the short stick. He was in the yard for what seemed an hour, probably only five minutes, looking through all our beautiful landscaping that would be a haven for a snake to hide in. (Note to self…trim bushes tomorrow) Just when I started feeling guilty about having this man rummaging through the yard putting his life on the line, he walks up to the door with the snake snagged on a long pole.
Here is the great part. He asks me if I want him to just throw the snake over the fence or to take it away in a bucket. Really. He asked me that. I told him that throwing it over the fence was not an option unless he had the arm that could hurl that thing 50 miles. Away went the fireman with snake in tow. Adventure over.
There is no avoiding it. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, javalinas, bobcats and an occasional mountain lion are part of desert living.
Thank you Metrofire! It is a great side service you perform.
Trivia about rattlesnakes. They are very territorial. Had he thrown the snake over the fence there would have been good odds of it’s return.
Thank you for taking time to read. To support this blog and help our main web site www.connectionsforwomen.com remain viable and current, please support our advertisers by visiting their sites.
Daughter screams. I jump up calmly, sure that it is just a black snake. I wanted to show my girls how to deal with nature in the right way when it comes a knockin’.
NOT A BLACK SNAKE. Mom reflexes acutely in tune, I slam the sliding glass door shut and LOCK IT!
My other daughter starts laughing. “Nice Mom” she says, “Lock the door so the snake can’t get in.” If looks could kill she would have been 6 feet under.
I called the local fire department. The dispatcher asked me to keep an eye on it. That was not a problem until it moved away into the grass. Was I or anyone else I loved going to go in the backyard to “keep an eye on it?” Not in this lifetime. The dispatcher sent out the poor fireman that must have drawn the short stick. He was in the yard for what seemed an hour, probably only five minutes, looking through all our beautiful landscaping that would be a haven for a snake to hide in. (Note to self…trim bushes tomorrow) Just when I started feeling guilty about having this man rummaging through the yard putting his life on the line, he walks up to the door with the snake snagged on a long pole.
Here is the great part. He asks me if I want him to just throw the snake over the fence or to take it away in a bucket. Really. He asked me that. I told him that throwing it over the fence was not an option unless he had the arm that could hurl that thing 50 miles. Away went the fireman with snake in tow. Adventure over.
There is no avoiding it. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, javalinas, bobcats and an occasional mountain lion are part of desert living.
Thank you Metrofire! It is a great side service you perform.
Trivia about rattlesnakes. They are very territorial. Had he thrown the snake over the fence there would have been good odds of it’s return.
Thank you for taking time to read. To support this blog and help our main web site www.connectionsforwomen.com remain viable and current, please support our advertisers by visiting their sites.
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Genny, remind me to wear boots next time I come over to your house. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. The upside though is that when you call (in my case) Rural Metro for snake removal, they usually send along three or more dishy young guys!
ReplyDeleteGerry