The Strong Woman(Weekender) – “Living The Wild Life”
By: Claire Cooper Black
Living the Wild Life has a different meaning in rural areas. We aren’t Living “The” Wild Life as much as we are Living “With” Wild Life. That’s one of the most amazing things about living in a rural area.
At our house, we are constantly surprised at what might be found out our back door when we step out. This year seems to be the “Year of The Snake” at our house. Each year seems to vary. One year it may be frogs, or spiders, or crawdads, or skunks, or armadillos, or … well, you get the gist. We never know what to expect on our porch or in our yard.
It appears that snakes have decided to “unwind” on our porch this year. We haven’t had a lot of them, but I think most would agree with me here that one snake on your porch is one too many, especially if that snake is a rather large Copperhead located near your bedroom door. What I find humorous about it is when I find a snake on our porch or violating our “safe space” near our house, I usually call on the Hubster, a/k/a The Weekender, to come take care of it. And I’m not sure why, but for some reason he always asks “Is it a big one?” And I’m always thinking, “DOES IT MATTER”? I don’t say it out loud, but I’m thinking it!
The Hubster has nicknamed me “The Strong Woman”. And yes, I have taken out my fair share of snakes when he is not around. But the Hubster is a Marine (Once a Marine, Always a Marine) and a former Houston Police Officer. So he’s a much better shot than I am. And the last thing you want to do is miss on the first shot. No, we don’t shoot them on our porch. That’s why the hoe is in close proximity to our back door. But when it comes to taking out a snake in the yard, the Hubster’s the guy.
I did try to take out a snake once, when the Hubster wasn’t around, with a Semi-automatic .32. That was a joke. He wouldn’t stay still no matter how many times I asked him too and I kept missing.
My best friend is a Veterinarian. She hates it when I tell her I have killed a snake. She likes to relocate them. One day, not to long ago, she sent me a text message with a picture of a snake in her entry way. Her cat had it cornered. Now here’s where the Aggie joke comes in. She asked ME what kind of snake it was. Remember SHE’S The Veterinarian that graduated Cum Laude from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. I teased her and asked if she was out sick on the day they covered Ophiology. (You don’t really think I knew that word did you? I had to Google it.)
I took a look at the picture and told her in my best Texas Twang, “I believe what you’ve got there is a baby rattlesnake”. The next day I ordered and had sent to her the book “Venomous Snakes of Texas: A Field Guide” by Andrew H. Price.
She didn’t kill the snake. She got a broom and swept it outside. No really. She did. Once a Veterinarian, Always a Veterinarian!
