My relationship with snakes started when I was a toddler walking into my grandparents home with a handful of fishing 'worms' for my dad...they were actually baby Copperhead snakes! I don't remember the incident but the adults freaked and that must have left an impression on me, I hate snakes, they creep me out.
Later my brothers would chase me with them [sometimes after the mower had run them over] and that didn't leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling towards snakes either.
I was about 21 when I went to the children's zoo with my niece, Shawn, who was near 3 at the time. The petting zoo...bless their hearts...had a black snake for show and tell. I didn't want to show Shawn that I was afraid of a harmless snake, why pass on an irrational fear? I pet the snake...Shawn declined...stinker. I've always tried to overcome my fears in front of my kids, not only for their benefit but for mine as well. I work to be stronger then my fears. Okay, not always, sometimes I'm a wienie. Like the time I walked into the home of my daugters friend [to see the new litter of puppies]. I walked all the way to the back of the house to view the most adorable pups. I'd been running around all morning and needed to use the restroom. As I turned to leave I noticed a cage sitting with the lid off...strange cage, all rock and a chunk of wood...empty. It occured to me that what I was viewing was Michael's cage. EMPTY??!!! Michael is an eighteen inch Ball Python...immediately [maybe sooner] I ask where's Michael? And do you know what they told me? He got loose in the house and we haven't found him yet! I'm no dancer but I put my toes on point like any good prima donna and started whirling around looking for that darn snake, I was sure he was lurking somewhere nearby waiting for me to pass him so he could lunge at me, wrapping his coils around my body, squeezing the life out of me. Oh, wait, he's only 18" long...hmmm, how's that gonna happen? No matter, it's probably possible...I've seen The Twilight Zone and I'm not taking any chances. I scolded the girls, "Next time Michael is loose in the house I expect to be told BEFORE I walk in!" ['cause then I won't walk in]. Bean insists that Michael is an extraordinary animal who slithers towards her with excitement when she comes in the house to visit and says that Michael smiles at her and is happy to see her. She holds him and plays with him and that just gives me the willies to think about. More power to my daughter for her lack of fear.
Other times I don't have time to get my fear under control.
My yard is full of 'Cobras'...in all seriousness there're no Cobras in my area, and 'Full' probably doesn't accurately describe one snake, but here's the story...
Last summer we were going to install a fence around the front of our acreage [for the daycare] so Bean, Gary and I were outside in the yard marking where we wanted the fence to go. In our yard we have weeds that are commonly known as "peckerheads", actually they're a form of plantain [I think]. Anyway here I am standing in the yard explaining to Gary where [exactly] I want the fence to go, the peckerheads are terrible and keep tickling my legs. I moved twice to get away from the stupid plants but I just kept getting tickled...hard to believe but I was getting irritated. I started swearing [no...really] and turned around to yank that sucker out...and it wasn't a weed, it was a snake, his tongue had been flicking my ankle! Fight or Flight? I picked Flight! I was out of my flip flops and into the driveway in one giant leap...[headline reads] "Fat Girl Sets Long Jump Record"! Seriously, NOT FUNNY. Gary and Bean laughed almost til they peed. Then Gary tells me the snake wasn't licking me, he was tasting me. Not helpful honey...go get my shoes. Bean went up by the snake and got them for me, and thank God for that otherwise I'd have walked all the way back to the house barefoot on the rocks.
We have a black snake that suns himself out back on a piece of tin. He just lays there nice and quiet and we drive up on the Golf Cart and say hi, then mosey on. I like to do this to show the kids that snakes aren't mad spree killers, but have a lazy, gentle side as well. Last week we were making our rounds and the black snake slithered through the grass, cutting right in front of our Golf Cart, it scared the crap out of me, and before I knew what I was doing I had my feet raised up and was yelling at Bean to "Drive...Don't Stop...Snake!!" Of course she slammed on the brakes because she's an animal lover and didn't want to hurt the snake, this just added to my panic. I mean, come on, snakes are known for their ability to overturn Golf Carts killing and devouring everyone on board, right? Well, maybe not in your world but anything is possible in mine. I can laugh after the fact, I'm truly irrational and silly where snakes are concerned and I do see the humor [days later]. Right now I have to get the last image of that black snake out of my mind before I can go out and pull weeds in my garden, and just to be safe I'm having the dogs run back and forth through the gargen before I step in there to pull weeds.
I gotta get back to work the kids are awake. Bye for now, T.