Well. This leaves your loyal reader with a host of questions. Like WHAT KIND OF SNAKE!?! And, HOW DID IT GET SO CLOSE TO YOU? And, WHAT KIND OF SNAKE? etc. In my head, those very important questions are coupled with burbled "gah" sounds.

And you did have on steel-toed boots, right? Cause you know you can get those at your local farm-supply store? And then you don't have to waste a bullet, you can just stomp the snake. Which eliminates the possibility of shooting your toe off.

By the way, no matter how tempting, don't shoot a snake in the house. It makes a CRAZY stinky mess. Plus, you'll have a hole in the floor. If you're not wearing the afore-mentioned-steel-toed-boots in the house, have someone hand you a wet bath-towel while never taking your eyes off the snake. Throw the towel on top of the snake and then sweep the whole thing out the door with a broom.

Y'al have a dog? Because dogs are hell-on-wheels for snakes. After I read that, I got TWO dogs :)

I've also heard this interesting info that you can check out for yourself: Here in the midwest, the children's hospital in the city treats copperhead bites with Benedryl instead of anti-venom (which itself causes significant damage). They used prescription strength (which is four times the over-the-counter adult dosage). When I called poison-control to inquire about big doses of Benedryl, they told me that it won't hurt anyone unless they're allergic to Benedryl.

Not that I'm snake-phobic or anything. Now I keep Benedryl in all the vehicles glove-compartments, the medicine cabinets, the diaper-bag, the refridgerator. Every member of the family knows where to get it, and fast. AND you can give liquid Benedryl to pets! Talk about a handy product :)

My mother told me a snake story from her youth:

When she went to visit her grandmother, she enjoyed gathering the eggs, but the chicken coop was on the other side of the fence, and she couldn't open it, so she climbed the gate instead.

Well, one time, when she had climbed the gate to get back in, but before she had climbed down, she saw a large snake. She screamed for help, and her grandmother came out, got the hoe, HACKED the head of the snake, then tossed the body over the fence with said hoe and carried her inside.

My greatgrandmother was 5' 1". You're a big, strong man... you can do it! :-)

We live in the country and while we've never spotted a rattlesnake in the yard it is always a possibility. We do however, occasionally have 5 foot long black snakes that my father-in-law always thinks we should kill with a hoe. My husband thinks we should leave them to sneak in the various buildings to kill rodents. I found one in the chicken house once with a noticeable lump in its body. I went after the egg stealer with a shovel but it got away.

My mother-in-law was barefoot in her extensive garden one day weeding with a hoe. She heard a rattle and discovered a rattle snake. She was quite surprised when she killed it with a hoe to see little snakes come forth! She then proceeded to kill the baby rattlesnakes.

All this snake talk is making me woozy. It was one of those water snakes, which where I grew up meant trouble, but around here apparently isn't so bad.

But still.