It is beyond warm and on the uphill side of blistering hot! I have enjoyed writing stories about the creatures in my homeland and the world around me. I know it has been awhile since I have written a story to you my  friends.  One reason is the heat itself. An old image of the south is that folks are slow and backwoods lazy. Lazy we are not but slow we are in the summer because it is such an uncomfortable hot that the only way to feel ok is to sit real still.

But then there is my sister who,when she has nothing better to do, she likes to pull weeds. She sits as still as she can and pulls weeds. It is a time for her to clear her mind and relax.

But then there was yesterday. We have all been very lucky to escape encounters with snakes, that is until yesterday. My sister was weeding in the garden and she felt a sharp pain in her finger. She removed her gardening gloves and noticed it was an odd shape puncture. Then she saw the culprit a small snake that was grey with black and copper marks on it. We rushed her to the hospital(10 miles away) .  She was hospitalized for observation and was fine today. We searched for the variety of snake and found it was a Western Pygmy Rattlesnake. They are not as poisonous as a large Rattlesnake but they did cause her considerable  pain and all of us a creepy feeling about our snake population. There is no such thing as a snake all alone.  We captured this one to let the doctor know what kind it was that had bitten her but that is just one among no telling how many?

We also found that one of the snakes had shed its skin  which means they are more sensitive and more likely to strike. In a spiritual sense snake represents transformation, especially when it is the season of shedding. I can also give statement to the power of snake and its reputation for “freaking” this family and all the friends in town who heard the story and embellished  the it as it went along. The only thing good about a snake bite is the story you can tell and the wide range of reactions inspired by the story.