Last night started out like any other Monday. The girls are in the barn working and I am taking care of some much needed weeding in the flower gardens. The next thing I know, Ashley is carrying a bucket to show me a SNAKE. The girl has a pet snake so she isn't the slightest bit afraid of them. However, she informs me that she thinks this one is a baby copperhead. OK, you captured what you think might be a venemous snake!!! Are you nuts??? I verified that the snake was safe and sound in a 5 gallon bucket with no chance of escape so we decided to keep it until Tom arrived home. About that time, Emily comes running from the barn saying, "Don't kill it!!" I ask Emmy, "Why do you care if we kill it?" I explain that if it is poisonous it will need to be killed. She says again, "Don't kill it!". At this point I'm thinking she has an attachment to the slithering little reptile just like she did the chipmunk. I'm trying to avoid another situation like the chipmunk so I tell her it will not be killed anytime soon. I asked her to explain why she didn't want the snake killed and she promptly exclaims "I want to watch". WHAT!!!!!!!! You want to watch?????? I joke with her that she has a characteristic of a serial killer and why on earth do you want to watch a snake get killed. She says, "So I can see if they are like chickens and crawl around with their heads cut off". That made me feel better, I don't have a future felon on my hands, just a twisted little girl who wants to see if snakes can crawl around with no heads. Well, as fate would have it, Tom gets home and inspects the latest catch. Lucky for the snake, he was a harmless rat snake who helps us out be eating mice. He was set free and will live to tell his children about his time in a plastic bucket.
So, my ordinary Monday turned into a hilarious night of snakes and laughter.
