by Jan Fielden
Yesterday I started outside and The Colonel held up his hand for me to stop. He was cutting the grass and I thought he wanted me to wait until he got by me. So, I stopped and waited for a minute and he motioned for me to come on towards him which I did. He then said something to me that he could have told me much later, like never, he said…. there is a snake in the shrubs! Well, I immediately went back in the house and as I did, I saw movement out on the Sun Porch. I thought oh no there is more than one snake. However, it was a Toad Frog who jumped in the bushes where the snake was.
I must admit that I did not try to save the frog, but I did hope the snake didn’t find him. Later, when The Colonel was done with the front yard and we were on the porch, we talked about the snake. He said the snake was a Copperhead but just a small one. Oh, yeah, the “small” one was about two feet long! I don’t think that is small. We have gone all summer and not seen a snake except a black snake one time. I kept knocking on wood because I just knew the Copperheads would make an appearance sometime. The Colonel said don’t be afraid of coming out that door, just make sure you have your boots on. Words that didn’t comfort me!
So, now every time I go outside, I am sweeping the yard, sidewalks, around the trees, the shrubs, the house and garage, the fence, and the gates with my eyes, for a snake! I hope they decided they didn’t want to hang around because it is going to be wet, cool weather at the Red Oak Ranch and will move on out.
