Erk! Yuck!
There I was, out the front, doing a bit of [gentle] garden reorganisation - yes, well, I know I shouldn't have been wielding a long handled shovel but when I tell you what transpired you'll be glad that I was.
I looked up just in time to see Bear - who was maybe 15 feet away from me - jump back at the same time as three feet of [extraordinarily venomous] Brown Snake rose up on its tail in a very threatening posture.
I yelled - of course
he took buggar-all notice - of course
so I did the only thing I could think of, which was to throw the shovel javelin style as near to the snake as I could in the hope that it would startle either Bear or the snake away from each other
which thankfully is what happened.
Bear returned to me and was pounced on, whisked inside, and subjected to a minute examination of his furry little person ... and a degree of slightly hysterical hugging
and he is currently trying to work out why I won't let him outside to go to the bathroom
now the reality is that the snake would've been out there whether I saw it or not, and I would've been totally oblivious ... BUT ... this was way too close of a call for my small and furry buddy so you'll have to pardon me for the melodramatics but I'm still slightly freaked
OH MY GOSH! My heart skipped a beat when I read your post. Do you normally find snakes like this in your yard? If so you can bet I'd definitely leave my yard work to someone else. Or not do it at all. I'm going to have nightmares tonight over this. I hate snakes!
ReplyDeleteHi Bev - I don't really have what you could call a YARD as such ... the house is set about ... oh ... probably 100-150 yds back off the road and except for the bit of garden directly in front of the house, is pretty much all just bush-block.
ReplyDeleteI seem to get about 1 brownie per year and always near the house ... which is to say I just don't see the others that are bound to be out there.
I hatehatehate snakes but I was more terrified for little Bear than anything else.
I now have a rotten sore thraot from screaming at him to " Come here!" and I'm sure my surgeon won't be too happy with me at my post-op check tomorrow if I tell him about my javelin antics
Oh Susan, the only thing I have a strong fear of is snakes, your love of Bear was shown by your bravery.....I'm sure I still would be frozen stiff, shrieking.....Hugs
ReplyDeletePS: Good Luck tomorrow with your surgeon.
Oh I'd be freaked out too!! Glad he is ok (and hope you are too!).
ReplyDeleteMy mum killed a brown snake in our backyard when I was a kid - with the broom handle! Better her than me!
Now if only Bear had barked at the snake like he did at us, the snake would be the other side of Bendigo by now....lol. Glad he is okay, and very glad that you didn't do yourself any damage, beyond that already mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI hope you surgeon is either sympathetic or has a misguided sense of humour.
If my Mum saw a snake around the house on the farm she wouldn't rest until she'd caught it. She would usually put out a saucer of milk, which seemed to lure the snake....back to its demise. But you don't want to see yours again - you just want it and all its relatives to go away and leave you alone.
oooer! I once met a snake while I had a loaded shotgun in my hand - and I ran away!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I am so glad that Bear was okay and not bitten. How terrifying for you. Luckily your javelin arm is a good aim. Has the shovel been retrieved as yet or is it going to be left there for a while.
ReplyDeleteSnakes scare the bejeesus out of me and most of the ones around here aren't poisonous. I'd be afraid to let Bear out (and he'd get really frustrated!).
ReplyDeleteWhew! Glad you and Bear are both okay.
ReplyDeleteI'm not particularly afraid of snakes, but I have been known to emit chimpanzee noises when I meet one unexpectedly.
Eep! Now that's some scary stuff. I am SO glad that little Bear is OK. Can you get anti-venom to have on hand or something like that? You Aussies live in such a dangerous animal world.
ReplyDeleteApril - you'd think we country folk would all have it in the fridge - and I did look into it after the first snake sighting - but it's got a very, very short shelf life and is hellishly expensive plus you need different antivenene for different snakes [ although this last is less relevant for me because all of the ones round here seem to be browns ]
ReplyDeleteMelodramatics are good!! I have them whenever we find a slithery thing in the garden with the dogs (or humans). We have visits from Copperheads more than Browns and spring is a good time for them. Lucky you had that shovel in hand and well done on your javelin skills!!
ReplyDeleteLizzie
XXX
I'm so glad Bear is ok. I would be freaked out too. I saw a new kind of (humane) snake trap on the New Inventors recently. Living where you live, it might be worth the investment in something like that.
ReplyDeleteBear's momma is a hero - even if Bear doesn't know it!
ReplyDeleteGaaa! This is why I live in Alaska. No ticks, cockroaches, snakes, or black widows.
ReplyDeletebut Dawn, isn't Alaska coooooold?
ReplyDelete... actually for the record, while we DO have redback spiders, [small] scorpions and venomous snakes there are no black widows [ that's an American thing I think ] and the cockroaches, funnelwebs and ticks - and crocodiles - are further north. Way further north.