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My garden produced something other than veggies last night! While picking my cukes I found this hiding. The worst part is I never saw her and I was very aware and looking for her. I actually was all over her with in inches if not on her. I had gone down one side of my vines and was headed up the other when I reached in to grab a cuke. All I saw was the white stripe under her eye and my blessed mind screamed snake, I might have even vocalized that ! I threw my shears and ran saying " Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesue over and over. I was so close to being tagged. God had his hand holding that snake down. I calmed down and decided to get the pistol but as I headed for the house I grabbed my camera instead. I wanted to share with you how well they hide. She was hidden so well the shot did not turn out. I then decided I didn't want to get into a match with her as she was under the vines and I didn't have a clear shot. When Tim came home 2 hours later she was still there. We finally had to shoo her out her out of the cukes. Tim hacked her with a floor scraper and only got her tail, then he got her in the head. He said he just couldn't stand the thought of her in my space.
The reason I am posting this is so that those of you who live in the area with snakes will pay attention all the time. While I always have a snake stick with me it did not work. She had just eaten and was resting. Make your eyes your best tool. Did you know you can usually smell a snake? They have a musky smell. Make sure to look under vines and even those that are on a fence. Gardening has been considered a passive sport but with company like this it can be defensive and even life threatening.
BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS
Fat little beggar. I knew you could smell snakes and that is what often spooks horses when you don't see anything. Is that a water moccasin? It looks a bit dark for a copperhead.
No is a copper head. A water moccasin or cotton mouth will not have the redish bands or the tell tail white under the eye which , again thank you Jesus, is what drew my eye to her. She was eating toads I am sure. I have lots , or had lots, of toads in my garden.
I'm so glad and thankful that you are ok. That is one of reasons that I won't move to FL as I would never garden down there cause of the snakes.
I almost stepped on one at my cousins in the WPB area and it was one of the deadliest ones down there but don't remember what it was. I was going out on their patio to have a cig and for some reason I turned on the outside light that night or I would have stepped on it. I hadn't been turning on the light the previous nights. I screamed and my cousin came a running. He killed it and chased me with it. YUK!!!! It was a small one not sure how big that kind gets.
How long was that one? How big do they get? I've seen rattlesnakes that were darn long in my book. Too big for me. My dad's cousin used to be a sheriff in your neck of the woods when I was a teenager. He brought me to see one that he had killed. Thinking it was over 10-12' long. Is that right?
I hate them up here, can't imagine having to deal with poisonous ones.
Thank you Jesus for watching over Nancie. So glad you was there for her.
OMGosh CG I am thankful that she was not in a fightin mood.
We have grest basin rattlesnakes here and they only get about 3 feet long or just over that
Laurie, the snake you are referring to was probably a coral snake. They don't have to be big to be life-threatening. Their venom is a neurotoxin like the cobra and it affects the central nervous system. There is one rattlesnake (Death Valley Rattler) that also has venom that is a neurotoxin. The coral snake is quite colorful with red, yellow and black bands and is similar in appearance to the harmless king snake. But if the yellow bands are adjacent to the red bands, it's a coral snake. If the yellow is adjacent to black rings, it is a king snake.
Oh my....I hate those things!!! I can't for the life of me figure out why such a horrible creature crawls this earth! I am constantly looking hard when I'm outside, especially in the gardens..you've given me reason to look even harder. Glad you're alright Nancie..you are alright aren't you?? I'd probably have a break down after such a close call.
Thank you all for wishing me to stay alive! I still get the willies when I think about it. It was so very close. All I can say is "thank you Jesus!
Laurie,
If it was 10-12 feet it had to be a diamond back rattler, they are the only ones that get that long here. Most moccassins( Cotton mouths, water moccassins, and copperheads) only get to 5-6 feet and that is a state record. I found a shed skin that was almost 6 feet and the biologist I was working with said it was the biggest moccassin he had ever seen.
Randy is right about the coral snakes they are the worst. Most in this area do not get over the 18-24 inch mark and you would remember the "pretty" colors of a coral snake, most people confuse themm with a King snake, , we play with Kings we Kill corals!
Night is the worst time for moccassins. We have killed more at night than during the day. Never leave the house with out a flashlight. When we have oyster roast there is so much going on they stay away, but for a casual night walk you want a light and a weapon.
Oh my....I hate those things!!! I can't for the life of me figure out why such a horrible creature crawls this earth! I am constantly looking hard when I'm outside, especially in the gardens..you've given me reason to look even harder. Glad you're alright Nancie..you are alright aren't you?? I'd probably have a break down after such a close call.
Other than thinking I was having a heart attack , I am alright and so very thankful. Our gardens are the perfect place to live so it is understandable why they want to "share" our space. I only wish they would not hide. I hate when I find them that way.
Oh Ms. Gloria I have a couple of snakes here on the lot. One is a gopher snake and one is a garter snake neither are poison and they eat tons of mice so I let them stay in the chicken coop when they want to.
I don't bother the snakes here either except maybe to tease them a little. I like to have them around. But we don't have any of the poisonous varieties anywhere near here.
Crabber, I don't know what kind of pistol you have, but you might consider shot cartridges to use for dispatching a snake. When I still hunted in the mountains in eastern Oregon, I carried a .22 loaded with those shot cartridges. You can hardly miss with them and they are very effective.
We have a .45 and several shot guns but the pistol is the one that is easily accesible. My son has a 9mm. We were talking and he showed me on line a "tauras" it is a pistol that uses shotgun shells. They bill it as the "snake killer" I might have to look into that.
I just don't use the shot guns anympore, not sure why just like the pistols better.
I have seen that Taurus and it comes in two models. One shoots the longer 3" shell and the other one shoots the shorter shell (.410). But you can't beat that one for snakes as the number of shot in the .410 shell is far more than what comes in a .22 shell. Being a semi-automatic, the .45 doesn't operate well with loads that are required with shot cartridges, so the gun would jam every time after the first shot. Those Taurus revolvers won't jam and they have at least 5 shell capacity. I load my own ammunition and I can load shot cartidges for my .38 that does a good job also. But I don't get around hunting any more where the rattlesnakes are.
Thanks for the info Randy. I am seriously considering the Taurus as there are many times I could use it. I am a better distance shot with the .45 I just can't make the compensation for small target close range. Might be my byfocals that mess me up too. Not sure. Tim loaded his own shells back in the day but we don't hunt to kill anymore and it is just easier to go to Walmart and get ammo. We don't even target practice anymore. Wow so many things we have quit doing. Basically the weapons we have , have become protection devices I guess.
Reloading has been a hobby of mine for well over 50 years and I started so I could shoot more for the same amount of dollars. I even cast my own bullets. I don't hunt though. I just kill paper or predators when the occasion arises. Nothing beats shot though when it comes to neutralizing a snake.
Carry a stick and poke around ahead of you and use it to lift vines and look under. I often carry a cane into the garden but not for snakes. It makes getting back up off my knees much easier.
I did have a stick with me when I found that snake. I guess she had just eaten because she was so nonconfrontational. Now I have freshly sharpened shovels stationed around the garden. You should see me poking the vines and thrashing them. By the time I get done all the flowers have fallen off and the cukes are dropping. LOL! My 80 year old neighbor stopped me this morning on my way to work and he an his wife are going down this morning to pick my cukes. They want to make pickles. I am just glad someone still wants to come pick them. I have about 50 in my kitchen right now anyway.
Saw a huge rattler on my way to town this morning. I just admired him and passed him by he was on the road not near any homes. He must live in the tree farm. As big as my arm! Didn't have my camera with me either dang it!
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