Recently, my husband discovered a snake in my garden behind the house, reminding me of my lifelong fear and how it shapes my actions.
As a child, I believed that the only good snake was a dead snake.
A snake was a snake, and nothing about them was good. To me, that was all I needed to know.
Even today, no one can convince me differently, and this is especially true if I walk upon one in the yard or close to my house.
My fear of snakes is real!
Have you ever jumped out of your skin after looking down and seeing a curvy stick against your feet? People even jump when spotting their own water hoses in the grass.
Yell snake!
Some people, myself included, nearly get whiplash deciding which way to run.
Growing up in the country, we often saw snake tracks in the sand. We called them snake drags, the shape that the snake leaves in the sand as it moves.
Every snake may not be venomous, but every snake will bite.
Even though I know ‘red touches yellow, kills a fellow,’ I have no need for snake rhymes. There’s no need to distinguish the good or bad ones.
Some people may feel as I do about snakes, but I can respect opposing opinions. I’m sure many of them like snakes, with some having no fear of them.
Here are a few other snake rhymes.
Red touch black – venom lack
Yellow touches red – soon you’re dead
Red touches black – friend of Jack
These short snake rhymes are easy to remember and serve as a visual warning that can alert even children to the danger.
Here’s my attempt to create rhyme based on my fear of snakes: brown touching yellow doesn’t mean that’s an OK fellow.
In our recent encounter, the three-foot snake was half-hidden between the cabbage leaves. My husband eased away, took a hoe from the garage, went back to the garden, and you know the rest of the story.
He showed me a picture of the dead snake, its head chopped off.
At that moment, he was my hero.
What would I have done if I had seen the snake first?
Of course, I’d have called him. It’s been years since I used a hoe on a snake myself.
With the threat neutralized, I asked him a few questions, Googled brown-and-yellow-banded snakes, and made no apologies for his actions.
The headless snake was likely a nonvenomous water snake.
Who would take the time to Google before eliminating the possibility that the snake might get away or crawl under the deck?
Not me!
Not my husband!
We don’t know any other way.
Afterward, I convinced my husband to buy some type of snake repellent to scatter about the yard.
Almost everyone with a yard has a snake story.
Scientists say that our brain detects snakes before we’re even sure they are there.
Every marsh, abandoned house, or thick grass makes me think of snakes.
I don’t worry about making rational risk assessments; a snake is a snake is a snake.
Whew!
I’m glad I didn’t go to the garden that morning and avoided a snake encounter!
I hope you are happy and well.