Paula vs. The Snake

The other morning I woke up early. My husband was still asleep, my son was still asleep. Sadly, there was no coffee made. I was just going to let the dog out and go back to bed, mostly because Tigger always makes the coffee and one can not just get up and be up without coffee.

However, my morning caffeine infusion became unnecessary when I peered into the dog's room... First, since you don't live in my house I have to explain the dog's room. It's a former sunroom. There are sliding glass doors between the living room and this room. This room has a regular back door that opens onto the backyard, hence the title "back door". We often leave the back door open and the dog on her cable so she can go in and out. The room does not have ductwork and has its own window AC unit.

But.....the back door has been closed all night. As I peered into the room in my hazy state of consciousness I saw something on the floor. It was thicker than her cable, not the right color for her leash. My first thought was How did that rope get in there? My second thought was Shit, that's not a rope, that's a snake!! My third and fourth thoughts smashed together something like this...I don't see a head on the snake...OMG, my dog bit off the snake's head. OMG, my dog is still walking around, she didn't get bit! OMG, let the dog out of the room while I pick up the dead snake.

Daytona was quite excited when I let her out in the house. I had a minor heart attack when the snake moved. So much for bliss in the early morning as I screamed There's a snake in the dog's room, thereby waking everyone else in the house. Even the cat came to the sliding glass door to see what was up.

(The orange is an extension cord, the taupe thing is not)

The varmit slithered under a shelving unit and I put the dog outside as we woke up. Tigger stated "leave the door open, he'll go outside". Sadly he did not right away. I went in to shoo him out when he was on the window sill (after an hour or more to calm my nerves with, yup, you guessed it, coffee) I would have gotten him out if I had help from more than the broom and if I hadn't been trying to take a picture of said creature. I hastily named the snake Spot, as it Out Damn Spot!

(Spot, posing for his closeup)

He then slithered back under the shelving unit and I stood there sweating as the dog barked to get back inside. Meanwhile the back door stayed opened. An hour later I donned tennis shoes (like I would kick at a snake), leather gloves (or pick it up), grabbed the broom and any other long handled apparatus I could find. I proudly proclaimed to Tigger that I would take care of this.

I'm not afraid of snakes. I had googled and somewhat confirmed this was not a poisonous creature. Now if this would have been a spider I would have watched from behind the glass as I made Tigger take care of it immediately. A snake doesn't bother me, except for when they are in the house.

(me preparing to take on the snake)

So in the room I went. Tigger came in and helped me tear apart the room. We found no snake. Fortunately there isn't a lot of furniture in the room, so it didn't take long. We safely assumed the creature had left, turned the AC on, let the dog back into her room, and most importantly shut the back door.

Two days later I'm still peering through the glass before opening the door. The dog has been banned from having visitors without permission. No sign of the snake. I'm hopeful that he slithered back into the wilderness that is our back yard, telling stories of his overnight stay in the house of the big black monster dog.

I'm giving away a book!!!

To help celebrate our American freedoms I am giving away an autographed copy of An American Walkabout. You can read more about the book, read a short interview I did with the author, and enter to win at my Accomplishate blog. A winner will be drawn at random on July 4th.

Where the Wild Things Are or Guess What's Living in our Yard!

At the end of our driveway is a drainage ditch. It always has some water in it and thankfully we have a long driveway. This week Tigger found this little guy living in the ditch. He's about two feet long and is actually quite adorable, for an alligator. Words I never thought I'd speak.

Before we moved here we lived in the mid-west, where alligators don't. When we started talking about moving here I had nightmares about alligators. I am surprised that the thought of this critter living in my yard doesn't entirely freak me out. Perhaps it has to do with shock of how many other creatures along the gulf are being destroyed because of oil, perhaps it's because we've seen every other form of nature in our yard. The alligator was bound to happen sooner or later.


The advice we've been given by those who know more about alligator behavior than us is to let him be. He's at least 1-2 years old and will wander away in search of food when his supply runs out. His mouth is about five inches big right now, so he's not a big threat. Yet.

I continue to be amazed at the diversity of nature in this state. The only thing we have yet to see is the wild boar that inhabit the area. Yes, wild boar. There are even warning signs on the hiking trails.

Summer vacation, embracing the late morning

Z and I are not morning people. With the elimination of a real bedtime Z has discovered the midnight hour. Staying up and watching goofy movies or Star Trek (which can occasionally be goofy) with Dad. It is presently almost ten a.m. and he's just now rousing. I've even been sleeping in, or getting up early and then going back to sleep.

There is something about the sixth day in a row of thunder rumbling through and the skies darkening that just summons you to take things easy. And at least for a few more weeks, that is what we're going to do. We've been reading, I've been working on school, and besides that we've just been hanging out. We need the mental rest, it's been a weird year.