Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Have I Ever Told You That I Hate….

 

SNAKES!
I know, I know snakes are beneficial in some respects. I get it I am an old, very old,  country farm girl.
But I was bitten when I was a little girl just by washing my hands in the creek from a water snake that was also there at the same time, so don’t even tell me about how beautiful or beneficial snakes are. Maybe in your home or garden but I do not even want to see them near mine no matter the size.
I turn into “The Hulk”  and will do anything to kill them.
Hey, after all I am the same women who took a shotgun and shot one that was on a two by four in the garage one day. Did I care that I had just blown a hole in the side of the garage? I think not. All I cared about was that I killed the snake. LOL!

So  Tuesday evening when we were having this terrible thunderstorm with fierce winds, lightening and hail I was busy  looking out the back door for trees that were falling and front door for tornadoes.

And the  worst of all of these was slithering up my front sidewalk.
A five foot Black Rat snake that  must have been washed out by the one and a half inch deluge of  rain we were having at the time. I know, I know they are one of those non venomous, beneficial snakes.  I could care less. It is a SNAKE!
 
And I am saying to my self “you have to be kidding me” and to the snake “ don’t you dare come up onto the front porch”.
” Don’t make me go out and down to the shed for the hoe in all of this lightening because I will”!

BlackSnake “ Just keep on going and do not even think about it”.
”I can make it out to get the hoe and back and still get you because you are moving rather slow about it.”
The temperature had went from 90 degrees to 65 degrees in a matter of minutes when the hail was falling so mister or miss  snake was not moving so fast. Way too slow for my liking.
” Go on across the road maybe a car will come along”. “Go across to that big field over yonder”. Keep on going”.
”Hey, we had a bear when I was a kid and it stood a better chance around me than you would”.
I watched that silly thing until it went down into the woods. Yes, into my Woodland Garden.
”And don’t even think about staying around my garden do you hear me” ?

Over dramatic you are saying. Well have I ever told you that I hate snakes. I mean really really hate snakes. LOL!
It was all true and I have the picture of the snake and the fallen trees to prove it.

LocustTree

Even when I heard the big Locust tree snap off and hit the garage It was not as much as a concern at the time as I was in watching to make sure that stupid snake got out of the yard.
What I had heard was the limbs hitting the garage. It managed to fall in between the garage and my flower bed to where I had some containers of tomatoes and cucumbers planted. It just missed the mini garden just below it. When the sun came out I ran out and got the branches cut away from the plant containers and had to set the tomato stakes back up in the mini garden where it skimmed across them knocking them down as it fell.
We had quite the storm. Behind the Woodland bed a huge Maple tree split and is leaning into other trees which will have to be cut down. (too bad that snake wasn’t there yet at the time)  and another Locust tree below the mini garden fell so we had some fierce wind. All of those trees down and non of them managed to cause any real damage.
My son will have to saw them all up when he gets of of this shift at work on Friday.
I cleaned up all of the branches and limbs that I could carry already.
Hey when I am more concerned about a snake than my tomato plants that speaks volumes. I really do hate snakes.

WoodlandLilies_June7 
The lilies along the Woodland bed are starting to bloom, well these red ones are anyway. You know I am going to be looking for that snake there from now on. LOL! I can go on and not even think about snakes until I see one and then I am looking everywhere for them.
Sort of like the time two years ago when I went out the back door minding my own business and a Copperhead was wrapped around the banister. You never seen an old fat woman jump sideways so fast in your life as I did that day. By the time I got the hoe it was gone but I looked all summer for them while gardening.

WoodlandLiliesRed_June7

Did I tell you about the time when I was a kid and my cousins and I were fishing off of a log and I went to go for more bait and at the end of the log was my worst nightmare a water snake wrapped around a bush so I could not get off of the log? I just stood there and screamed and screamed until Dad came running through the weeds to get me while the boys just stood there looking at me.

Or the time I stepped on one while wading and it slithered out from under my foot"? I tell you it feels awful.
Ewww, I hate snakes!

WoodlandLilyRed_June7
Or the time that I was running across the corn field jumping the corn rows and jumped over the Blue Racer that then decided to chase me through the field and that it did not stop chasing me until I ran sideways across the highway up on the porch and into Grandma’s house? Good thing  no cars were coming at the time.
Did I ever tell you that I hated SNAKES?!!!!!!

 


Hobo
I much prefer Hobo the bear.


Until Next Time and
Happy Gardening,
Lona

27 comments:

Becca's Dirt said...

Girl I am laughing my a@@ off at you. Because you sound just like me - only I haven't had the encounters you have. I know that black snakes are the good ones - they eat the bad ones but darnit they are all bad aren't they. I would be looking for it all summer long too. Watch my blog for when it happens to me...

Balisha said...

You described your feelings about snakes very well here in this post. I remember when I told about Joe killing one...some of the bloggers were upset and told me how beneficial they were. Well, I thought, they can be beneficial somewhere else. I don't want them here. I'm surprised that you go out at all...LOL
Balisha

Darla said...

I am in the same boat with you Lona! I jumped on a picnic table in the yard one day and left my wee little children on the ground, all the time I'm screaming you better run, you better run! My mom laughed about that one until the day she died...they will keep me out of the gardens for days after I see one. Walked out the front door one day and almost stepped on a garter snake sitting on my welcome mat... I HATE SNAKES TOO!

tina said...

Well I can't say that I blame you for hating snakes since you were bit by one. I am definitely not a snake hater but even I would be unnerved by that large rat snake. They can be troubling for sure. Sorry about your tree coming down. Scary stuff indeed!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Oh Lona you crack me up!!! I can see why snakes would freak you out after your experiences with them. I just read an article in a garden magazine about a woman who has snakes overwintering in her cellar!! She just lets them stay there too.
I'm really glad the storm didn't cause any major damage. That would have been pretty scary, but not as scary as the snake.

Giga said...

Jak czytałam Twój post to dostałam "gęsiej skórki" z przerażenia. U nas nie ma ich dużo, ale odwiedziny nie jadowitych węży w oczku wodnym się zdarzają. Zjadają żaby.Boję się ich. Nie cierpię gadów bez nóg. Pozdrawiam

Masha said...

What a dramatic story! I had a lot of fun reading it although I am very sorry for your fallen tree. I can't say I like snakes, but I live in suburbia, so I don't have to deal with them :).

Anonymous said...

Hatred noted and affirmed. Give me a big ol' swarm of anything any day -- but SNAKES NEED TO STAY AWAY.

Cathy and Steve said...

OMG Lorna, you are singing my song! I am PETRIFIED of snakes. We have a small garter snake in our garden and I sick the dogs after it. I am in your corner with that hoe - you go Girl!

Jean Campbell said...

I feel your fear, Lona. My neighbors have bats in their storage shed.

Anonymous said...

Funny post. I HATE snakes too, but am too chicken to go after them with the shovel. In PA, I had my snake experiences, and we had copperheads all around. Plus I stepped on a garter snake nest when I was young and it left a life-long lasting impression.

GRACE PETERSON said...

Lona, Tell us how you REALLY feel about snakes! LOL. Actually I totally agree with you. I hate them too. Who cares if they're beneficial? They're freaking creepy! I'm so glad that storm-snake didn't go up on your porch. I hope you never see another snake as long as you live. Methinks that even then it will be too soon.

pogonip said...

ME TOO!

And I'm pretty sure that Kharma was wondering what that snakey smell was in the pond when I took the photo! I've got a bitty garter snake that will scare me silly all summer if I don't move it far, far away.

Stella said...

I am so glad none of the trees did damage to your house. And I hope old Mr. Snake has found a home faaarr away.

Carolyn ♥ said...

I share your feeling for snakes,Lona, but I allow them safe passage in my gardens because they eat the spiders whom I hate even more. I do keep a wary eye open for them. Your lily blooms are gorgeous!

Kate said...

What an action-packed post (and very funny)! I don't think I've had near as many close encounters with snakes as you have. Well, I guess there have been quite a few, but they were pretty much all garter snakes (boring) and they certainly weren't marked with such interesting stories.

Too bad about the trees in your garden! I love your stand of lilies, even if it seems terrifying now that there could be a big black snake in there.

Lori at Jarvis House said...

To tell the truth I had RATS more, and since SNAKES eat RATS, they are my friends! When I went to Kiawah Island this Spring I was with a very small child who lived on John's Island. She was visiting us on Kiawah. She noticed the huge yellow snake in the driveway. I must have stepped over it unknowingly. It was the same color as the fallen Live Oak leaves. Your blog is wonderful, keep taking pictures, they are stunning. As for the weather, let's pray that we do not experience more extreme events. Glad that the fallen trees missed your buildings. Cheers Lori fromthe Jarvis House.

Joe Todd said...

I'm not a snake person either.. This year so far so good

BernieH said...

I'm with you, Lona! Yes, I have seen a fat old woman jump sideways pretty darn fast ... me! I've screamed and run back down the stairs ... I've jumped ten feet in the air and literally taken flight! Unfortuately we get a lot of snakes around here as we're out in the bush and I just don't like them!

It's lucky that the Locust tree missed your mini garden and that the others didn't do much damage. Having come through cyclone season earlier this year with so much damage and trees knocked down, I know what a mess can be left behind.

Beautiful Lilies!

HolleyGarden said...

I hate snakes, too, though I've never been bitten by one! But I am so sorry your big Locust tree fell! (and others, too!) Will that loss of shade be detrimental to your garden? I am glad it didn't cause any real damage for you.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

I am petrified of snakes even the little ones. My brother used to find snake skins when he was young and carry them around in a box. YUCK!

Eileen

Sue Catmint said...

Lona, I hear you - I am frightened of snakes that are aggressive but so far as I know most of them keep away if they can help it. But then (luckily) I haven't had any scary close encounters with them like you have. sounds like an amazing storm.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona!
I just wanted to say "thank you" for id'ing the lily. It's beautiful. I've never seen a double one before but I'm going to keep my eyes open now tho!
Have a great day.

Karen said...

Lona, oh, stop, my sides are aching from laughing. My two little dogs looked at me very concerned, too.

I just busted a gut thinking of you shooting the snake in the garage LMAO...who cares about a hole in the garage! I keep a .410 and a .22 handy at all times, too. Even my 90 yr old mother was sitting outside her house yesterday with her .22 trying to pick off a woodchuck trying to get under her porch. Must be the country in us, right?

I hate snakes too, my brother used to chase me around with a big black one wrapped around his neck...ewwwwwww. They could hear me screaming to the next county. Mom tied into him when she came to see what the ruckus was about and found out he had a snake in her kitchen. Lucky she didn't have the gun then!

I'm sorry to hear the weather has been so nuts by you, too. I hope the cleanup goes smoothly.

And thank you for the wonderful comment on my polar bear situation...you made my day with that one!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona girl ... I am going to have to think up another name for you that involves "snake' .. crazy anti-snake woman ? haha .. my god I am still laughing here and trying to type at the same time .. Hey .. I can sympathize with you, truly .. if I tell you what frightens me and the story that goes with it (some time)
You would laugh at me so much you would forget about snakes!! LOL
This was quite the read girl .. thank YOU ! hehehehehe
Joy

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Hi Lona.. :)
Not blaming you at all. I am not a lover of snakes, but I pretty much live and let live. Now spiders..well...I really just GOTTA squish 'em!
Hugs!

Cat said...

Hmmm, you have too many snake stories - no wonder you're scared of them! I'm getting braver about them being around over time...except for rattle snakes - I hate those.