The Garden of Eden

One of the first pieces of jewelry I made from metal clay is what I call "The Garden of Eden."  Here I was working with creating a curved shape and using metal clay in the syringe.  (Using the syringe definitely takes practice.)   I started with no idea in mind (my usual mode of operation) and as I worked the piece reminded me of an apple tree with snakes around it, hence the title.  As stated in the last post, this is the only kind of snake I want to see.

But unfortunately, every few years I get to have a "snake episode."  My second encounter came when I went out to the car to go grocery shopping (damn we go through food.)  It was dark out and the garage light made me aware of a large, very jagged crack in the floor of the garage.  I hadn't ever noticed that crack before but thought nothing of it until I found I had the wrong car keys and had to go back into the house.  That's when I saw the crack MOVE and realized it wasn't a crack at all but a very agitated (very long) black snake.

Seeing as how my husband had a six foot boa constrictor in his classroom I thought he would be the man to call.  Obviously he only feels comfortable if he personally knows the snake.  His solution was to take a 2x4 and try to push the snake out of the way.  We found out that snakes don't like 2x4's as he raised up and kept trying to strike out at us.  (I'm getting chills just thinking about it.)   He did manage to get him out into the driveway but he just wouldn't leave.  My husband's next brilliant idea was for me to get in the car and back out.   "That ought to get him to leave."

Have you ever run over an already dead snake and have visions of it getting caught under your car?  I have (several times.)  If I think a dead snake can come up through the floor boards of the car, what would a live one do?  (Why didn't I refuse and have my husband back the car out?)  Anyway, I did it and lived to tell about it.  The snake did leave.  I don't know where he went and I don't care.

I'm just praying there isn't an episode three (although the Boa story could pass for number three.)  If there is indeed a snake living in the ceiling of my garage.........  I thank you all ahead of time for taking time to read my blog because I won't be making any more posts.  It's too hard to type when someone is  frozen in terror.

It keeps me awake at night.

(The only snake I want to see.  A commissioned ring.)

The other day my husband said the neighbor stopped by and told him there was a big black snake crossing the road (with eggs..... what ever that means) behind our house.

We've lived in our house for over thirty years and in all that time I've only seen a snake twice.  (That's two times too many in my book!)

The first time my husband had just left for a weeklong fishing trip and I was getting ready to head out the door for a full week of shopping,  eating what I wanted and having the TV all to myself.   As I headed out the door I saw this long black snake heading up the driveway toward the house.  There was about an inch crack under the garage door and I envisioned him slipping right under the door so I stuffed something in there to close up the gap.  He just laid out there in the driveway (a barrier to me and my freedom.  Would he lay there for the full seven days?)   I called my neighbor and asked him if he was afraid of snakes.  "No........(long pause here)..... Why?  I told him what I wanted and he said he would be over to take care of it.  He showed up with a copper pipe (about eight feet long) and something else that I can't remember.  (I'm not sure he really wanted to do this.)  He really didn't have to do anything as the snake slivered away as soon as he saw him.

Now I lay awake at night.  Is the snake under my back porch where the amount of weeds growing around it would help him hide?  (I want to pull those weeds and plant mums but now I'm not sure.)

Or...... is he hiding in the ceiling of the garage (where my husband installed a dropped ceiling and I know there is some kind of critter up there.)  I use to think it was a chipmunk but now I'm beginning to wonder.

What keeps me up at night is seeing Zoe Nelson's picture of a black snake climbing the wall of her shed.   There is no reason why a snake couldn't climb the block wall of the garage and crawl into the garage.  Tomorrow I'll tell you about the second encounter I had with a black snake "in my garage."  (At least he was on the floor!)

I would never hurt a snake.  (I try not to hurt any living creature..... except ants when they come into my house.  I am not going to catch an ant in a jar and release him outdoors.)  But, I don't want to come face to face with a snake  either (just stay your distance and we will be okay.  Let me rephrase that..... I will be okay.)

Remind me sometime to tell you about the Boa constrictor that lived at our house for awhile before it headed off to my husband's classroom.  And the "what ever made me think I could feed a dead mouse to a six foot boa" story.