Copperhead

  Yesterday Sheila and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.  Our idea of fun is work.  We decided a couple of weeks ago that we close the shop and clean up the farm.  Last year my mom died and my two brothers and I inherited the place.  My side had  a gully at the bottom of the hill, just before you get to the creek.  During grandpa's working time, there was no garbage pickup or a junk yard for worn out farm implements.  So in the gully, out of mind.  When we unloaded the dogs, we began to pick up discarded roofing tin. Sheila had the great idea to take a couple of garden hoes to pull the tin up so we could grab it without bending.  I thought that was a wonderful idea, because snakes sometimes den under debris like that.  I did not however inform her of that.
     After a couple of hours we had that area clean, so we decided to go to the edge of woods next to the creek.  There next to a large hollow Oak was a small pile, that was covered in dirt.The dogs were sniffing around and digging at the tin.  I just thought they were after rats or chipmunks.  As soon as we started to pull dirt away and scrape the tin with the metal hoes, they left.  When Sheila screamed, I jumped.  There was a blue tailed skink about eight inches long, ran from under the tin over her feet.  After they danced for a few seconds the skink was able to break free and climbed the hollow Oak.  I thought it was funny even when Sheila threatened to whip my ass.  I returned to digging and saw something slither out from the tin to the right of me.  I will admit that it startled me.  It was an odd looking rat snake,  copper colored and no scales.  That's weird, I thought to myself and reached down to pick it up by the tail.  When I grabbed it, it shook away from my grip and went into a hole at the bottom of the tree.  Thank God for arthritic hands.
     "You stupid idiot!" Sheila exclaimed.
     "It's just a rat snake."
     "It's a snake."
     I chuckled to myself and went back to work.  Psalms 91 tells us that "thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder, the lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet"
  I knew where it was and I could see it so I was not concerned.  All of a sudden a  larger one came slithering out.  I instinctively jumped back and I could see his head clearly.  It was a triangle.  I knew that it was not a moccasin, rattler or coral snake, but I knew that it was poisoness.  We decided that we did not need that piece of tin and left it laying.  I pulled the trailer out of the woods and to the top of the hill to tie the metal down.  Sheila told me, "I just realized that is a copperhead."
     I have lived for 63 years and never saw a copperhead, but I saw two yesterday, Sheila and I made several trips around the trailer adjusting the straps.  On the last trip I looked down and there was the largest pile of dog dookey that I had ever seen.  We had been all over it and never touched it.  I guess that we can trample a lot of things under feet safely.  Tomorrow we are going to get Sheila a pair of snake boots and I am going to wear mine.  Don't know what to do about picking the snakes up, regain my sanity I guess.
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