My hubby, the Snake Hunter

Yesterday evening after dinner I was looking forward to spending a peaceful evening with the family. No activities, just a few things to do around the house. However, my dream was thwarted by a phone call from our neighbor.

Apparently, while our backdoor neighbor was mowing, they spotted a rather large "copperhead" snake that zipped through their yard, scaring their dogs, and then slithered under the fence in the direction of our toolshed. Lovely. So Austin spent an hour or more outside trying to figure out if in fact it was under our shed and if so how to get rid of it. The girls screamed because they were not allowed to "play" outside with Daddy. Finally he came in just in time for bath and bed with no success.

BUT, my husband does not give up that easily. After the kids were safely tucked in, he began to stalk. He set up post at the kitchen window with a flashlight and the back porch light on and checked and checked and checked for the snake. To my surpise, he actually discovered it trying to make its escape! He waited as it slithered stealthily across our yard, under the swingset, toward the street. Then, he crept outside, retrieved his equipment (shovel and hoe) and proceeded toward the creature. I sat inside and prayed, for it was quite a big snake for this city girl. He lifted the shovel with one hand (holding the flashlight with the other) and let it fall...pinning the snake's head to the ground. Then he dealt several blows to the poor creature, who turned out to be very thick skinned...or at least our lawn tools were not so sharp! By then, it was bedtime, so we came back in the morning, with neighbors invited and all (everyone around had been warned and was concerned about the kiddos playing outside). Well, it turned out that it was a 3-4 foot long harmless Texas Rat Snake. But what an adventure. Just look for his new program on Animal Planet Soon!