Bert, the snake hunter
Thanks to the plowing up of our wonderful green belt area in preparation for the stupid road going through our neighborhood, the snakes are out. When I was mowing yesterday afternoon, I almost ran over a 3 foot snake. Before I could get something to kill it, it slithered away into the ivy at the side of the house. I figured I would leave it alone, and it did not look poisonous.
This afternoon I went to let Izzie out in the backyard, and saw a similar snake….maybe the same one, sunning itself by the house. Now I figured, you are in my backyard, and you might get my dog, so you are done. I loaded my 9mm with snake shot, got a shovel, and went to work. I was trying to get the snake to be off of the retaining wall, since I did not want to get any ricochet shot. It hid itself in one of the bushes, and I could not find it. Since I was unsure that it had not gone into my back neighbor’s house, I called him to make sure that he knew because of his dog and child. He came out and helped my spot the snake as I poked various bushes. I first thought it was a garden snake, but when it struck at my shovel and I saw that white open mouth, I figured we had a venomous snake.
After shooting it three times, with the last one being in the head, it finally was no longer a threat to us or the dog. I carried it in a shovel to the woods at the end of the street and left it for the other animals to eat. My adrenaline was pumping so much that I had to jump in the pool to cool off.
Our friend’s cat was bit by a copperhead this morning, and is in the hospital for the rest of today to get him better. So watch out for snakes for a few weeks until they find new homes. Thanks to our wonderful City Council for pushing the road through. Will you call animal control when one of the lovely snakes finds you, or do you live far enough away to not be bothered?
October 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Yuck… killer snakes and killer hawks, what is going on?