15 April 2009

The Encounter

It was a quiet day in our gardens and
a perfect day to get some things done outdoors.
My best friend had been out there working for 2 hours;
she arrived while I was still resting.
I decided it was time to help her.
---
She suggested several tasks;
I chose to clear the mess which has been under my son's window
for the last year or so.
You know boy things--like greasy clothes and other stuff.
I don't want to go into further details here--anyone who has had boys will understand and maybe even empathize with me.
I hope.
--
At first it was relaxing (while being strenuous at the same time)
pulling weeds, moving the rocks which border the path and bed there,
and picking up the garbage.
--
The day was on the cool side, but not cold--
perfect for this type of physical labor.
Recent rains had made the soil soft and weeds weren't too hard to pull.
I was making good headway;
AND
my hubby man would be pleased!
--
One lawn bag full;
by this time I was sitting down to pull the weeds out, being of the lazy gardener sort.
I was pretty comfortable--maybe too much so.
Thinking back that was a mistake--a grievous error even.
-
I should have known not to relax and sit down on the job;
should have known that wasn't a safe thing to do in the garden
at this time of the year.
I moved on to the next rock,
not too much more left to do.
--
But first a recap here:
The first thing I had asked my best friend when I came out to help was if she had seen any visitors today; she said no.
You see we'd been having a lot of trouble with uninvited, unauthorized visitors on our property lately.
--
I moved the rock, just as I had done all the others.
Odd.
There was this thing under the rock.
A thing with a stripe--an orange one, I think--and it was curled up,
kind of like a brooch jewelry sort of thing.
Maybe?
--
Strange. It wasn't moving.
Could it be some kind of weird overgrown snail or maybe a shed skin thingee.
--
Hum.
I thought about poking it; maybe I did.
I don't recall now.
Was it dead?
--
Things seemed to move really fast after that...in fact
I lost track of the exact sequence of the events around this time.
I sort of went into a state of shock...
but I do remember asking my best friend,
a much braver and more knowledgeable person then I,
to come and take a look at this
odd discovery of mine.
AND
it was somewhere during this time (or before she got there) that she said it was
and I realized it was
--
A SNAKE!!!
--
You've never seen an antique granny of five move so fast while making such loud noises.
Honestly.
If you were in our area today at about 1 PM I'm sure you heard it;
there was NO way you couldn't have.
I must remember to apologize for the noise pollution to everyone in a 10
or maybe 20 mile radius of our property someday.
I know they'll understand;
after all I'm the type of person who screams when I see a snake on the ground as I whiz by safely on our lawn tractor--so it's not the first time they've heard it.
--
Moral of the story:
  1. Always be prepared for unexpected visitors; you never know where, how or when they'll show up.
  2. Never, ever--under any circumstances--move a rock in the garden without being prepared for a possible surprise under it; most likely it won't be a hidden treasure you will find there.
  3. Hip boots and full body armour are a good and proper uniform for a granny weeding on a spring day in the NW. And the most important moral....
  4. A creature that looks like a coiled up, totally immobile, snake-skin-brooch-orange striped, hiding under a rock thingee is most likely (meaning absolutely) a VERY live snake.

The End--I sincerely hope (of this story)

--
Photo: a rock and weeds
And you thought I was going to post a photo of him???
Obviously you haven't read my snake posting policy here;
please understand that I'm a stickler for important policies like this.
I actually take personal pride in upholding firm standards and you really have to be when you are posting publicly -- I mean this is the Internet and this post is accessible by almost everyone.
-
. Besides if we had to recreate the event for a photograph my friend would have been calling 911 for me;.
an antique heart like mine can only take so many encounters of this kind in a day.
--
May your day be blessed with only flowers.
Blessings, aimee

5 comments:

Momzoo said...

lol! Funny! We have a lot of snakes around here too, most really big, harmless gopher snakes. Although we have killed a few of the rattling variety.

Sallyo said...

Great story!! Love your blog; it's my therapy.
Sally

aimee said...

Oh, Aimee--please don't say that!! I might be too scared to ever visit one of my fav states again:) EW!! Rattlers--yep that would be worse.

Sally,
Glad you liked the story and my blog!! TY so much for your kind comment; I am truly blessed when I can bless others!!

Blessings to both of you!
Aimee

PS: My best friend still laughs everytime I mention "the encounter":) and of course I do that everyday. LOL

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

Oh, hate snakes, too. I doubt you would have gotten me back in the garden. I really appreciate the snake posting policy.

Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. Stop by anytime! I love it when people comment. We are so blessed to live the PNW. Your blog is beautiful.

God Bless!

aimee said...

TY Cheesemakin' Mamma for your kind comments & for your total understanding (& agreement) of my strictly enforced snake posting policy! LOL!
We have had more close sightings since 'the encounter'- hence today I'm blogging rather then gardening:)
You are so welcome about the comment on your blog--it was my pleasure to visit there and I'm planning on a return visit!
Blessings,
Aimee

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