CURSES OF JUNE:

It snowed last week. Spent the last 5 days trying to salvage what didn't freeze in the garden. Wanted to give up on it but no can do with the current prices of veggies. Saved what I could and replaced what I couldn't. Now it's just weed and water and blog guilt free.

Funny, the things that go thru my head while working outside. Today it was all about snakes. Started when I stepped outside and startled a little Gardener Snake who was sunning himself on the back stoop, caused me to do a knee to chin high run in place while screaming. The mouth wide open type of scream that you can't stop till you run out of air.

I hate snakes. It stems from a close call I had when I was around 3. My parents, sister and I were visiting my uncle and cousin in OR. We were walking along a trail single-file, looking for wild strawberries on our way to swim in the Rouge River. My dad was leading, then my mom, sister, cousin Lynn, me and my uncle brought up the rear. My uncle Doyle was a farmer and it was normal to see him with a rifle of some sort. He carried a shot gun on that hot summer day and I didn't really pay attention to it till I heard a loud "BOOM" and felt something hit my leg. First thing after looking down and seeing blood on my leg and yellow flowered sun dress, I thought, YIKES! - why was he shooting at me? My dad yelled, grabbed me up and pointed to what was left of a big snake writhing around on the ground next to where I had been walking. Uncle Doyle said the Timber Rattler was coiled and ready to strike at my leg. The edge of my dress fluttering in the wind was really interesting to him. Those rattle snakes don't have buttons on their tails to warn people (shouldn't they be called Rattlel-less Snakes?).

I was more scared of being in trouble (I had spent the morning sitting in the chicken house watching a big brown snake that had swallowed an egg in a nest box then crawled thru a knot hole to the next nest and eaten another one. It was fascinating...just couldn't leave without knowing how he was going to get out of his predicament. The chicken house was off limits (probably because of the snakes!) so I was feeling guilty about being naughty. When the gun went off and I thought it was MY blood I was looking at, the only thing I could think of was - I'll never go in the chicken house, or the pig pen, or the pond (and all the other places I wasn't supposed to go but did) again, HONEST!!

Years later, my mom had an experience with a Rattle Snake that still gives me the creeps. She and a friend had read about an orchid sale in a near-by town. Off they went in her friend's van to select their favorites that had been brought to No. CA from So. CA and displayed in beautiful baskets. They picked out a couple nice ones and as she carried it to the check-out, my mom felt a stinging-burning on her hand. She figured she had just gotten poked by part of the basket so went on loading the treasure into the van.

After a 30 min. trip home, she carried her prize into the house and found the perfect spot for it in the living room. About 15 min. later she heard her little terrier barking and skittering around on the dining room floor. Coming from the back of her home to see what the racket was about, she sees a foot and a half long rattle snake coiled up and striking at the dog. Then she looked at her hand and saw 2 little holes in the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger.

Luckily the viper held back it's venom so Mom got only the residue off the fangs. She said the site itched for 3 months and after 15 yr., she still has the scars. Every time I visit her, I can't keep my eyes off the "snake basket". The orchid has long since passed away but the basket lives on, only OUTSIDE on the deck.