The Rattler!

So, it was a typical Sunday morning.  We all were up early, having breakfast, playing with the dog, getting ready for church, when Bentley would not stop barking.  I was at my wits end, so I was fuming and heading outside to give him a peace of mind and tell him to Shut the H. E. Double Hockey sticks UP!  (not proud of my attitude but it was the reality at the time!)  I flew open the sliding glass door – got two steps out on the porch and I am not sure if I heard it or saw it first.  It was a rattlesnake!  Right there – 2 feet from me.  (mind you, I was in the process of getting ready for church, so I was still in my panties!).  Feeling very vulnerable at this point, I jumped back inside the house and slammed the door.  Then I screamed for Jason.  We both looked at each other and said, Now What?! 

Poor Bentley, he was in his kennel, two feet away from the snake on the other side of the porch.  Good thing or I think he would have gotten bit.

While we were thinking about what to do, we called Melanie over and let her look at it and hear it, so if she were to ever hear that sound again, she would know what it was and to stop, look for it and go the opposite direction and yell for Mommy or Daddy.

So, I went and got dressed and put my cowboy boots on.  We had to wrangle a snake.  Complete with a clear plastic storage tub and two broom handles, Jason kept the snake focused on him while I slid the tub on its edge up to the snake and flicked him in the bin with the broom handle.  Jason flicked the bin upright and we slammed the lid on it and locked it tight!  Phew – my adrenaline was pumping! 

Neither of us wanted to get close to it, but we just couldn’t leave it alone and assume it would leave and never come back.  So, in the bin it was and we were off to church.

Well, after church, we weren’t sure what we were going to do with the snake, but we decided that either we would have to kill it or take it CALM and see if they wanted a new specimen for their reptile exhibit.  But, when we got home we discovered he had a terrible fate.  He got a little too warm in the bin and was dead.  Opps, but we were thankful none the less to not actually have to get close enough to it to do the killing. 

We waited until the next day, to make sure it was good and dead and Jason cut the rattle off and showed it to Melanie and then she took it to school and Grandma’s for show and tell!

Boy, I hope I don’t have to go through that again for awhile!