Day 1
This year I have declared war on the snake in the strawberries. He has tormented me and other innocents enough. I was hopeful we had eliminated previously when we killed three in our yard. False hope, I knew, as none of them were as large or as black as the perpetrator of fear. The boys told me this morning he had slithered out of the rhubarb yesterday when they were picking it for me. To quote B, "He was HUGE". Yes, I know, he's lived a little a too long.
Today, being the brave woman that I am, I sent D out to pick strawberries. He wasn't doing a very thorough job, so I grabbed the shovel, (just in case) and very helpfully pointed out ripe strawberries to him. :) Now that I knew the enemy had made an appearance, I was not sticking my hands down there. A came out to work on the rhubarb. We picked all the strawberries and no rustling of the leaves but our own. Whew.
On to rhubarb. Even though D had tromped through the rhubarb area once, I was being cautious and used the shovel to move a leaf before sticking my hand down to pull a stalk. {Shiver} Thank goodness I did. I heard just the slightest movement of dead leaves and spotted a FAT line of black with an orange stripe slithering toward the bushes. I took aim, but could tell he'd already gotten too far, I thrust the tip of the shovel down anyway and score! But, blast, the hard ground caused the shovel to jump and he disappeared. All I could think was, "Where is that demon dog, Gary, when you need him?"
Spurred on by my bravery I called for D to come running. A and I stayed on one side of the bushes while he ran into the neighbors yard to cut the opponent off. Alas, he was gone. No sign of him. The brave lad that D is, he pulled weeds and rhubarb to make the line of sight better, but it was for naught. The slimy invertebrate had disappeared. I wasn't ready to give up so we continued to peer into the bushes and pull rhubarb when suddenly, there was a triumphant shout from A, "I found him!" Praise the heavens!
I ran to A and spotted the creature. He began to make a break back to the other side, so D ran into the neighbors yard again. We worked him back and forth between us down the line of bushes, (he even tried to make a run for it past me, I've decided screaming and whimpering only attract the enemy, I must remain silent from now on) until he escaped into the neighbors rock garden. Drat.
At this point, I feel I should explain the inexperience of my fellow soldiers. We haven't had a snake, other than the sneaky snake that enjoys the strawberries, in our yard in the eight years we've lived in this house. That would make A four at the time, B practically a baby, and D a whopping 7. They really have no clue how to do this. I've endured this nemesis for three years because he seemed harmless, but last year I noticed how large he was getting and he startled me one too many times. We tried to spook him out, rattled a few rocks and branches, but to no avail. I declared a siege. No one was going anywhere until that snake lie dead on a shovel. We continued surveillance on the bushes until D decided he'd had enough of the mosquitoes and deserted to the house. A and I retreated to the picnic table to stand watch. Determined to keep my hands busy I lopped the ends off the rhubarb while I watched. As the sweat ran down the back of my legs, I watched. As the mosquitoes continued to search for my blood, I watched. A, ever faithful, stood guard beside me. Eventually, the heat, boredom, and sheer ridiculousness of the moment forced me to call it a truce, for now.
Thanks to my brave and true husband who loves me in spite of all my neurosis, we attempted a night raid. According to D, because the enemy is cold-blooded, the heat makes him sluggish and he would be more active in the evening. Really? I thought it was the other way around? At that moment I realized I had failed to follow basic battle strategy, know your enemy. Time to hit Google and arm myself with ammunition for tomorrow.
Hmm, ammunition......
