Kyle, The Snake Whisperer

This afternoon, the neighbor kids came over to let me know there was a bull snake in my back yard!! I was like "Wha?? In my backyard?" I've been here nearly three years and never seen a snake! Course Mark is at work, and the dog is oblivious, so I had to go and deal with it.



The neighbors are hanging over the edge of the fence with hockey sticks and golf clubs (not sure what that was accomplishing, but it was funny LOL) and I am looking in and under every nook and cranny trying to find this snake that they say slithered from their yard into mine. I'm looking under the trees and bushes, in the sandbox, no snake to be found... At this point, I was kind of happy that I hadn't run into a snake, but also worried that it could just pop out of no where when I least expect it anytime too... so I continue on my hunt for a few more minutes. Meanwhile the neighbors and now the neighbor's neighbors and other mystery people are on the other side of the fence with their weapons, ready to strike. I asked Dale (the husband) if he'd like to come over and help me find it, but he was quite happy to be on the other side of the fence watching LOL (geez, thanks tough guy...). He had called The Wildlife Conservation office and they were on their way, which was pretty smart - I hadn't thought of that!


Mark finally came home to save me from the slithering beast... Or so I thought. He grabs a hockey stick from Dale and starts peeking nervously in places the snake surely wouldn't be ... Oh sure.. Mr. Gold Medal Tough Guy in the newspaper is scared of a snake. I brought it up to him how I thought it was interesting that he could fearlessly battle a trained TKD competitor two belts above his own, and yet he was scared of a snake... He joked "We don't hide from each other and then jump out!"... OK... Guess I know who NOT to count on to save me from snakes. Not the neighbor, the neighbor's neighbor or Mark for sure.


After a while, we all had just assumed the darn thing slithered back down into the coulee. My audience at the fence had dwindled and I let the kids back outside. Kyle went to practice his golf in the backyard and Jessica went off to the Mayday tree in search of caterpillars. The Wildlife Conservation Officer finally arrives and is poking around looking for our hide 'n seeker friend... nothin. Kyle grabs his "Lightening McQueen Snake Finding Flashlight" and goes hunting too... Finally, a guy not afraid of the snake! Kyle was going to save us all from the terrible being! He went straight under the cedar trees, where we had all been (except for the neighbor, neighbor's neighbors, mystery people and Mark) and says "I found the snake!". Of course we were all thinking "Yeah ok bud...", but he did... he found the snake! It was a 4ft bull snake. The officer packed it up and took it away! Thank goodness we found it, so now I don't have to worry about it jumping out at me while I'm playing in the garden.