Snakes

I've been told there are a lot of snakes in the area. There are more than usual due to the hot, dry summer they've had. The snakes are coming out of the hills to find water. That was disconcerting news to me, and by disconcerting I mean frightening - very, very frightening. I was advised not to go out at night without a flashlight and don't pick up metal sheeting as they like to hide under that. My plan is I won't be going out at night ever again and I won't be within snake leaping distance of any type of metal.

They say they have Copperhead snakes here. I think I know what they look like from old history books. I've seen pictures of them in political cartoons from Civil War times. I believe they called Democrats that remained loyal to the Union, "Copperhead Democrats". From what I know of the area, the odds of running into a snake are much greater than running into a Democrat.

Anyway, I haven't seen any snakes yet, but I think I've got a good plan for dealing with them if I see one. Just knowing they're out there maybe has me a little jumpy. This afternoon a bee landed on my arm and I almost wet myself.

On the positive side of nature encounters, I was running on a path that goes to the school and there was a deer standing there maybe 10 or 15 feet away. I slowed down and I walked passed him (or her, I don't know how to tell the difference (don't judge me)). We just locked eyes the whole time. I even tried talking to it like Dr. Doolittle, but we didn't seem to make a connection. I also seen a chameleon a few days ago. How cool.