Big to me, anyway. Maybe four feet long, and not skinny either. Just about jumped out of my skin when I discovered what the dogs were fussing about. It didn't have a triangular shaped head, and I didn't see/hear rattles. It did later quiver the very end of its tail, however. Dark on top with irregular lighter brown *blobs* where the diamonds would be. Underbelly was shiny silvery white.
I have happilly killed baby raccoons, skunks, possums...but, for some reason I hate killing snakes. NOT that I like them, I have a serious case of the heebe jeebies right now.
The big snake was caught up in the bottom inches of the bird netting I used on the greenhouse. I took a forked stick to hold the tail, and used some scissors. I think I got all the bits of netting cut off it.
BF is seriously disgusted with me right now. He thinks all snakes should be killed. I once let an actual rattler go simply because I was so startled by it (about a foot from my foot) that it didn't occur to me to kill it. And, I was even holding a shovel at the time.
Anyway, with this evening's snake, it remained calm, and I remained more or less calm. Once it got free, it slithered away, and I thought that was the end of it. Later, I freed the dogs penned up in the house, and of course they ended up harassing the thing in the middle of the yard. Now, an obviously pissed big snake with its head up, and the fine end of its tail aquiver - Yikes. I don't *think* I misidentified it. I finally got my three disobedient dogs inside, and the big snake slithered through the fence into the neighbor's yard.
I have to wonder, maybe I was too lenient: Is this why my proven rabbit doe (consistently eight babies each litter) only had two with her last litter??
If I see it again, I'm killing it.
I have happilly killed baby raccoons, skunks, possums...but, for some reason I hate killing snakes. NOT that I like them, I have a serious case of the heebe jeebies right now.
The big snake was caught up in the bottom inches of the bird netting I used on the greenhouse. I took a forked stick to hold the tail, and used some scissors. I think I got all the bits of netting cut off it.
BF is seriously disgusted with me right now. He thinks all snakes should be killed. I once let an actual rattler go simply because I was so startled by it (about a foot from my foot) that it didn't occur to me to kill it. And, I was even holding a shovel at the time.
Anyway, with this evening's snake, it remained calm, and I remained more or less calm. Once it got free, it slithered away, and I thought that was the end of it. Later, I freed the dogs penned up in the house, and of course they ended up harassing the thing in the middle of the yard. Now, an obviously pissed big snake with its head up, and the fine end of its tail aquiver - Yikes. I don't *think* I misidentified it. I finally got my three disobedient dogs inside, and the big snake slithered through the fence into the neighbor's yard.
I have to wonder, maybe I was too lenient: Is this why my proven rabbit doe (consistently eight babies each litter) only had two with her last litter??
If I see it again, I'm killing it.
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