Mar2015_SO WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING
by Ryle Winn
Snakes! That’s what’s been happening. I’ve seen two lately – and two others I haven’t seen. ‘O…K’ I hear you say. I also hear you say, very quietly, that the poor bugger must be starting to imagine things.
The handsome red-bellied black, a big fat serpent, was the first contender. He was asleep right at my feet and struck at me when I started the whipper snipper. No, that’s not quite right. It struck at the snipper and I struck a fast clip towards the other side of the road. Shit! Nearly. Don’t think he appreciated being disturbed.
The next skinny black critter caused alarm. A few reasons why. He was about 1.5m long and he was draped along the blinds in my workroom. I didn’t think black snakes could climb but I wasn’t about to leave him there and check the fact out on Google. What happened next? What do you think? Writing about snakes is one thing. Living with them is another. For the record, the black wasn’t a black. In the shadow and under the fluoro light it proved to be a green. Poor bugger.
Now the big brown that I didn’t see made me feel secure. Last year I saw him, many times until I showed him the shotgun. He took one look at it and took off into the bushes – very slowly. Must have been crook. I haven’t seen him again.
The other day I drove down town to get the mail and fuel my ute – max fifteen minutes away. On my return I didn’t see this snake but what I did see was his perfect freshly shedded skin draped across the doorway. True. Rebecca took it to school to show it around. Two metres exactly. Hope it was just a big carpet and not a baby anaconda.
See ya next month, if I remember.
Phone 34251247
