Poisonous snake story #1 - was walking out the door, down the sidewalk, a very very small copperhead which I didn't see struck the back of my shoe. It did not live happily ever after.
Poisonous snake story #2 - Went out to Las Vegas and went to the Valley of Fire, it's a very nice park. Where I was it was very flat, and few rocks, no brush and snow white sand. I was walking rather quickly and my mind said STOP! Two feet in front of me was a mostly buried sidewinder coiled and buried in the sand. I backed up 3 feet. (Snake was about 18' long", best guess.) Then I got out my camera and got some great pics, moved way around it, leaned back in and got some more pics of squiggly then walked very SLOWLY back to the car.
Poisonous snake story #3 - You know you have copperheads when you go out to the garden and smell fresh cucumbers, but you didn't plant any.
Poisonous snake story #4 - You know you have copperheads at the local quarry when you smell cucumbers. Watch where you are!
Poisonous snake story #5 - in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, there is a trail to the "bat cave" and Hollywood sign. On the trail is a sign "Beware of Rattlesnakes" . Gotta love LA.
Snake Tragedy: Once upon a time I had a garden. There was this garter snake that liked the garden. I am not afraid of garter snakes. I knew it was there, but the little bugger would climb up the plants and jump out when I got close. After about the 10th time, I dispatched it. I still do not like the resolution, but heart attacks are no fun either. And the problem is we also have copperheads, so no chances with unknowns.
Snake insanity: Saw a gorgeous house snake in the road a couple years ago, pulled the car up along side, rolled down the window and told the snake it was very pretty and should get out of the road.
Snake rescue: A baby snake of some sort got in the basement 10 years ago. I found out when my 12 year old daughter (near midnight), says to the cat - "Comet, what have you got?". Well then I hear "Comet's got a SNAKE.!) nothing will get you out of bed quicker. Had two state troopers help find and get the bugger back outside (safely).
Snake rescue: Another small house snake got trapped near the basement door. Caught it in a box, took it on a car ride to the local wildlife people, they played with it awhile and we let it go. Another house snake
Rescued from snake: When I was 16 my friend and I went mineral collecting, nature viewing, etc. just below the Conowingo Dam. Jack looks down and screams "A hognose snake", and lunges under this huge bolder. He planted his feet and pulled and pulled, but the snake got away. Thank God.
Killer snake from hell: Actually, was in Virginia near Saylor's creek metal detecting, not hell. I look down and about 6 feet away is a gorgeous hognose snake. I told my 12 year old to "watch this". We got closer and he coiled and shook his little tail. Oh, was he fearsome. I took a very small stick and gently touched the snake. He did this great performance playing "dead snake". Of course, we left him alone. Found some nice CW bullets that day.
Snake attitude problem: I decided one day to take down the 15' above ground swimming pool. There was a pretty large garder snake. I yelled "get out of the way or die". It left.
Snake attitude problem #2: My two daughters were outside and saw a humongous garter snake. It unfortunately (for the toad) caught the toad who lived under out steps. So the kids wanted to catch the snake. What the heck, what's the worse can happen, peroxide
So I said ok. (Mom is just a little nuts.) So I rigged up a pole with a loop on the other end made of speaker wire and told them to go ahead and catch the snake. They really tried. This snake was HUGE. I was watching from the door. The two cats were helping them. So they poke at the snake. The snake does not like it, so it dropped the toad and turned on the kids. So up the stairs into the house comes the cats first, then the oldest, then the youngest, then this stupid snake is chasing them within 5 feet of the DOOR after climbing the steps! Jeez! But then it saw ME and I was not running. So the snake turns and heads back down the steps with 1) both cats and then in order 2) both kids after it. It got away, but Jennie Toad died.
Death to snakie #1 - My daughter was sent home from the flea market we were doing to get some potted water plants out of our small manmade pond to sell. So she gets back in about an hour and is frankly madder 'n hell. She had 3 plants, not the 10 I asked for. i had told her not to put her hand in the pond, but to use a rake and pull them to the side, then get them out. She did this. However a very aggressive northern water snake had problems with this and attacked her. it missed. My 22 did not miss the next day.
Death to snakie #2 - I was IN the garden pond harvesting water plants to sell. I was on one side of the pond. I was wearing knee high rubber boots but using bare hands to pull up the plants. I hear a "sploosh" from the other side of the pond about 10 feet away. BTW- frogs "plop" Snakes ""sploosh". A few seconds later I feel a "bump bump" on the rear of the boot. I look around and there's squiggly running (swimming) away. This is when I found out it's not really all that hard to walk on water. The 22 took care of this one too.
And the piece de la resistance - Once upon a time ago, almost, no actually in another life, almost, I was squirrel hunting at my mother in law's. I was down in the "glade" as we call it. There were some old mine shafts nearby so had to walk carefully. I sensed something wasn't quite right. I look down and there is this here snake running between my legs from the rear to the front. I waited until it got about 8 feet away and shot it with a 12 gauge. BTW= that's too close, as some of the pellets zoomed back past my head as they hit some rocks. I couldn't find the snake. So I backed up 10 more feet and put two more #2 12 gauge loads into the area where the snake had been. Not being totally satisifed I reloaded and put two more rounds into the general area. That's not overkill, is it? I never found even a PIECE of that snake.
All stories are real and not embellished.
