My Hubby, The Snake Handler

My hubby brings home the bacon - he works very hard to provide for our family.

However, a paycheck is not all he's been known to bring home. Just last week, he brought home this little guy....

..a two-ft. long garter snake. He found it on a roof (of all places!), picked it up, put it in his snake bag (an old pillow case), and brought it home.

When he got home, he walked in the door and told the boys, "I brought a snake home for you. Take him out in the back yard and play with him for a little while. Then let him go."  My boys could hardly contain their excitement as the raced outside to meet their new "playmate".

Now, all of this might sound a little strange - or downright terrifying - to those who don't like snakes. And I know the feeling. I used to be a snake-a-phobic myself, with an irrational fear of them... until I married a man who picks them up as they slither through our front yard.

Years ago, my response the "go out and play with him" phrase would have been a gentle tap on hubby's shoulder and saying, "Ummmm, excuse me??" Not anymore. I've gotten used to my hubby bringing those critters home, grabbing them while we're in woods, fields, near the river, etc.

However, I've never seen him go after a rattle snake until.....

...last summer. As we were driving on a dirt road, we saw a snake along the edge of the road. As we got closer, hubby said, "It's a rattler!" at which time I expected him to keeping driving. Nope. He threw the van in "Park" and jumped out to get a closer look.  (Yikes!  My blood pressure pretty much spiked at this point!)

But unlike the stories you hear about rattlers, this one was not aggressive at all. In fact, my hubby wanted him to rattle for the children, but it took several minutes to get some noise out of him. The snake kept trying to escape into the woods. Hubby finally got a stick and after trying and trying, the snake was finally irritated enough to rattle. (And just so you know, my blood pressure was most definitely in stroke range by this time!)

After he began rattling, he slithered up on the stick that hubby was holding...slowly working his way towards his hand! (and my bp is still going up, up...)

After the snake was completely stretched out on the stick,  hubby moved him to the other side of the road...out of the line of traffic. ( bp is slowly starting to come down at this point...thankfully). As we pulled away, we could still hear him rattling. It was a sound that I - and my children - will never forget.

Back to my snake-a- phobic days....I always thought that the "only good snake is a dead snake", as the local saying goes. I was terrified of  finding one in the yard, flower beds, garden, and anywhere else in nature.

But my hubby has helped me overcome my fear. Not that I want to run out and try to pick up a rattler. No thanks. But I am not scared of seeing them outside anymore, and I am gaining enough courage to at least touch (and hopefully, eventually hold) Ian's 56-inch pet black rat snake named Samson...

Notice in the photo Ian is holding most of the snake. In other words, he's there for "support" - for me, that is.....in case I come to my senses and drop the critter.   ;)

My next step is holding the snake - without Ian.  I'll be sure to post a pic of that day, whenever it comes.

One more thing. Where did Samson come from, you ask?? My hubby brought him home from work. But you  probably had already guessed that.   :)

Have a blessed day, friends!










"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
~ 2 Timothy 1:7