I've been joking about finding so many Rat Snakes in the yard that it's hard not to trip over them; well, today, one literally fell out of a tree and landed on ME. I'd heard the Blue Jays having a major conniption/hissy fit/tantrum/riot out in the yard, and went out to see what was going on. Nine times out of ten, when they do that, it's a snake. If it's not a snake, it's a hawk or an owl who got disturbed during his daytime beauty sleep, or a crow who thinks that picking on his smaller cousins is a lot of fun. Usually, though, it's a snake, a Rat Snake more often than not, BUT, it's usually on the GROUND, so naturally that's where I was looking. I heard a small branch overhead snap, and barely had time for hit to register before my head and neck were enveloped in one large Rat Snake, who no doubt thought he was a goner and never figured that there'd be a human standing there to break his fall, but at first I honestly thought I'd been hit with a tree limb! This old pecan tree is notorious for suddenly losing huge, and apparently healthy, limbs, limbs much larger in diameter than a person, and it took me a second to realize that whatever hit me was SOFT and flexible, not hard and made of wood. Neither of us are any worse for wear and tear, fortunately. The snake expressed his gratitude by promptly spraying me with musk; thank goodness for Nil-Odor Drops and Fabreeze Fabric sheets! The snake didn't die in the fall, I got a new snake, and I no longer have to throw aways the clothes(that used to be the only way to cope with the musk odor; you can't just wash it out).
pitbulllady
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