Had a scare yesterday

[Gin N' Tonic]

Was doing some weeding in my strawberry patch yesterday afternoon. I stepped close to a weed and as I was bending to grab it a snake's head came up, brushed against my hand and bit into my shoe. At first glance it appeared to be a copperhead and I jumped back very startled. I chased it down to get a good look at it and it turned out to be a juvenile rat snake which at a glance is easily confused with a copperhead. I guess I stepped on the poor critter and it struck in self defense. Been a long long time since I was that startled. It must have been a sight to see me jump like a scared jackrabbit. Good thing I was alone :biggrin:

 

[CaptG]

Bet that got the ole ticker revved up. I am not afraid of snakes and have caught my share of rattlers bare handed, but when you step on one and it jumps right under you, I can out jump most younger men, lol. Glad it all worked out ok.

 

[randyrls]

This was your cardiac stress test for today!!! Have a nice day!!! :biggrin:

 

[PenMan1]

Most snakes around here won't really hurt you. HOWEVER, they do tend to make you hurt yourself. Glad to hear your only casualty was a pair of underwear

 

[Jim Smith]

Sure will get your blood pumping won't it. I actually like snakes and am very comfortable handling them as long as they're not venomous. I was out fishing one day and ended up wet wading so I was in water about thigh deep. I sat down on a downed tree to fish a bit. I would put my hands down on the log to lift up and slide along as I was fishing the opposite bank of the river. Without looking, I accidently put my hand right down on top of a four foot long water snake that was coiled on top of the log. He started squirming and thrashing around trying to get loose while I tried to swallow my heart that had somehow found it's way up into my throat. That little episode just about scared the $^&# out of me so I am now much more careful where I step and put my hands when I'm outside.

Jim Smith
Conyers, GA

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Even a non venomous snake can hurt me bad as I run from it directly into the path of on coming traffic:redface:....Yes I'm a chicken when it comes to snakes:bad:

 

[tim self]

As a gent told me years ago. "I'm only afraid of 4 kinds of snakes, big ones, little ones, dead ones, and live ones." I always try to give them their side of the road.

 

[ed4copies]

All I can do is quote a not-very-famous philosopher who penned the phrase:
"where, oh where is my (CLEAN) underwear??"

 

[jskeen]

rat snakes tend to be obnoxious and snappy under any situations. Fortunately even a big one has such tiny fine teeth that even a good solid bite is not dangerous, or even very painful. Well, not dangerous unless you have a heart problem.

SO, you chased him down, got the skin tanned yet? Can't wait to see the pens. Adolescent snakes tend to make very nice pens because the skin colors are brighter and the patterns smaller than adults most of the time. Sometimes you do have to double join the skins to get around a tube without using the scutes though.

James

 

[Gin N' Tonic]

SO, you chased him down, got the skin tanned yet? Can't wait to see the pens.

No, I didn't kill him. I just can't find it in me to intentionally take another life no matter what it is. In my younger years I have killed many animals but something has changed. Two tours in combat zones have unleashed many demons that I fight to control. Stupid as it may sound; I'm deathly allergic to bees but I will capture one in my house and let it go outside without harm.

 

[jskeen]

Nothing stupid about it, if it works for you. We all have to find our place on the Bhavacakra and from there begin to liberate ourselves. Some like me are just going to take a little longer than others. It's kind of like winning the lottery, gonna take me a while, as I don't buy tickets.

Far be it from me to mess with someone else's dharma though.

James

No, I didn't kill him. I just can't find it in me to intentionally take another life no matter what it is. In my younger years I have killed many animals but something has changed. Two tours in combat zones have unleashed many demons that I fight to control. Stupid as it may sound; I'm deathly allergic to bees but I will capture one in my house and let it go outside without harm.