Annie, that is the kind of excitement I can do without!

My Aunt's place has always been know for copperheads too and she sees them every year. This year she is overrun with black snakes too.

So far, I have just seen a couple of blacksnakes and one striped garter snake. The blacksnake was in the hen house and the rooster was putting up a squawk. DH missed getting it. We usually take them down to the river area away from the farm and turn them loose. I have had them get all the eggs.

My poor dog isn't much help. They would have to cross in front of him to get his attention. I want my next dog to be an old farm hound, maybe a Mountain Cur that will actually earn his keep.

Stay safe from the copperheads.

Well it seems we've got a couple of pistol packin Momma's in our group LOL, at one time I was pretty good with a 22 but that was just shooting at stationary targets.
Copperheads, I wouldn't do very well around your neck of the woods, in fact I'd be living in a high rise with a rooftop cottage garden. No poisonous snakes around here thank goodness.

Annette

Do be careful. I'm always fearful that a raccoon seen in the daytime may be rabid.

I saw a snake this afternoon, goodsized and slithering right across where I want to plant some begonias that I have in with some very determined caladiums that have emerged despite drought.

Before I could check him more thoroughly, I looked back to see Buffie coming our way and circled back to divert her back to safety, just in case.

I'm pretty sure it was a rat snake. He had blotches, not diamonds, and was rat snake orangy-colored. He'll just eat toads and frogs and maybe some of those lizards that rustle in the bushes to scare me.

Annie, did you look back at the post about the Carolina Spicebush?
Nell

I don't kill the black Kingsnakes, just chase them off. They eat rattlers and copperheads. Good snakes.
We have Bull snakes too, aka Gopher snakes. They are good mousers, but will also eat chicken eggs, baby birds, and my frogs! They can be aggressive too. I try to chase them off, but if they go at me, I shoot them.
I always tell the snakes I have to kill, "Sorry, but I am a daughter of Eve."

{{gwi:625243}} Old Photo of Raccoon visitor

{{gwi:625244}}
Friendly Mrs. Raccoon sitting on the front steps with two of my cats, Bitty & Dap

I must have hit the raccoon in the butt. He/she hasn't come back...yet. I am a dead shot, but I really didn't want to hit him, just chase him off. But he insisted on killing my chickens, and enough is enough. I have lost many chickens and one year, they got 120 of my KOI, including my 2 Ghost fish. I am sick of it.
And snakes...if you shoot them in the head, they die instantly and no writhing. I killed a 6-7 foot rattler last year. He was in the middle of eating all my guinea eggs. Had eaten so many that he was stuck under the door going into the henhouse. I shot him three times to make sure he was dead.

My grandfather was a professional hunter and trapper for the state of California, besides being a Master Bee Keeper. I learned a lot from my Grampa. He really didn't like killing things. It really bothered him. When he was dying, he asked my mother if she thought he would go to hell for all the animals he had killed (The Cherokee believe in respect for all life and only killing when necessary). Poor Grampa. He just did what he could to take care of his family when times were so bad (20s & 30s). He retired from hunting when in his 40s due to a bad heart and he and Grannie kept bees and harvested honey. He had been a mason and well digger in his earlier years. By the time I came along he had long since retired from most things, due to illness. He did however, catch snakes, lizards and other reptiles of all kinds, which he sold and shipped to zoos around the USA. He was great friends with Marlon Perkins. One year when I was about 5 yrs old, Mr. Perkins brought us kids a baby Crocodile to keep for the summer. My brother & I named him Rover, because he barked for his food. He was so cute! We took care of him for about 6 months until a place for him was found.

I just realized that I posted this in the Gallery instead of Conversations. Ooops!

~Annie

Nell, yes I read all it said about the western Spicebush.
No, the Carolina Spicebush would actually do better here. The Western one could not take our drought and the winter temps, and even though we are in drought, it is still quite humid! We have very hot, humid summers here for the most part. Ugh! Feels like you can drown in the water in the air. Right now, there are clouds building every day, but they just fly on by us and go up to Ohio and rain on Christine's garden! She's getting our evaporated lakes and rivers! The very idea! Thief! :)

Thanks for being so thoughtful and posting that info. I really appreciate it. I didn't know there was a Western Spicebush. Cool!

I did read that the Carolina Spicebush is hardy in zones 4-9, so will do fine here. I bought mine from a little home-based nursery in Tennessee. It was a very little plant and then we had those several late spring freezes and snow and it hadn't gotten rooted well enough yet, so it froze back. It struggled along for awhile and then finally died about two weeks ago. The three River Birches I bought from them suffered too. They arrived in great shape and were so pretty. Only one made it, but it looks pretty good now. Lots of new healthy leaves. Now...where should I plant it? Maybe by the patio where it gets afternoon shade but will shade the patio in the morning???

Got to go move the water now.
Later Dudes and Dudettes!

~Annie

Sweetannie Oakley!

I have adventures with racoons around the garden here often myself. Fortuntaly, no posionous snakes around here. In fact no snakes at all locally.

Such exciting stories in this thread!

I used to think I wanted to live out in the country, but realize now that there's way too much wildlife there for my peace of mind. I'm better off on my little city lot with just the birds & bugs, the occasional toad and (once) a tortoise.

Oh my goodness that was just like reading some old west story of days gone by! What a day you had. I don't think I would be at ease until I had that snake dead and nailed on a door. And to think you grow such pretty dainty flowers. LOL

Ohmygoodness Annie! That would be way too much excitement for me! Please be careful!

Patti

Well, not everyone who lives out in the country carries a gun and shoot poisonous snakes, but I have chickens and grandchildren and myself to protect. Some country residents just have a home and yard and most yards do not have lush cottage gardens. It is like an oasis to the wildlife, and for the most part, I love that about it, but it's different when you have livestock and pets. They attract predators and predators are not cute and friendly if you are the one they are after. I am not afraid of snakes, just wary of them. If you leave them alone, they won't bite you. Only when they are protecting themselves or their nest do they become aggressive. Even rattlers and copperheads will run away if they can. But I have to admit, the "silent but deadly" thing makes me a bit uneasy, and I'm not talking about passing sneaky gas!

So living in the country does not mean you would have the problem I do. It is just a way of life for ranchers & farmers and small homesteaders like me. Comes with the territory.

Even deer can be deadly. Their hooves are razor sharp. And wild turkeys are fierce birds. Nothing you want to fool with unless you know what you are doing.

As for the raccoon, I have never shot at one before. I don't want to kill anything, but after seeing what they do to chickens, I had gradually gotten to the point that I couldn't just live and let live. They are NOT the cute and friendly little bandits you see on Walt Disney films or other movies. They can be very aggressive and certainly murderers of farm fowl. They enjoy killing for the sport. And THAT ticks me off! I've lived here 14 years and seen what they do to other animals and it isn't pretty. This is the first time I ever shot at one though. Just fed up!

Actually, I AM very feminine, but I was taught to be self-sufficient. I grew up around wildlife and was taught how to deal with them. We had orphaned wild animals for pets many times and we were taught how to take care of them. Living next door to my grandparents like we did was so interesting. It was really like living in the Old West, being around Grampa & Grannie. He had an old Model-T truck and drove very slowly. Grampa would say to people as they sped by us on the highway, "Durned fools - going so fast they can't see anything!" or he'd say, "Slow down! You're gonna cause a wreck!" Grampa was ALWAYS looking at the scenery everywhere we went. Grannie would tell Grampa, "Look where you're going and stop going where you're looking! People will think you're drunk or something!"
You can imagine the looks and honking they got when he drove on those busy California Freeways and in the cities in that old truck. (hehehe)

One time when he and Grannie took us grandkids to Calico Ghost Town, we were walking around the town like other tourist, looking at things and taking pictures. After awhile, Grampa got tired, so we sat down to rest on one of the benches outside the general store. Grampa had on his favorite Stetson hat, a pair of old, comfortable boots, striped bib-overalls, a pair of tobacco-stained, long handled underwear with a plaid flannel over-shirt. Grannie had on blue jeans, a blouse with a man's plaid flannel over shirt, a big straw hat and sturdy walking shoes. As we sat there looking around, Grampa took out his wheat papers and his pouch filled with Prince Albert pipe tobacco and began rolling himself a Taylor Made cigarette. They were hideous looking things. All misshapen and slobbery from licking it when he sealed it, but he wasn't making it for looks. When he finished, he took out a match, struck it on the seam of his overalls, held it in the air for an instant and then carefully lit his Tailor Made, taking long drags with deep satisfaction. The aroma was very pleasant. We always watched this magical process with the deepest interest and admiration. And then we looked up and saw that some tourists who were walking by about that time, were also looking on with great interest and they began taking pictures of my grandparents. Pretty soon other people stopped to take pictures, too - they thought my grandparents were part of the ghost town attractions! We all got the biggest kick out of that. "Durned fools!" Grannie said under her breath. "You'd think they never saw a man smoke before." Shy little Grannie was a bit embarrassed being the focus of their interest, but she had a good sense of humor, and afterward, she thought it was funny too. We kids always loved going places with them, but this was especially cool!

I had an very unusual childhood, to say the least.

Feminine but able,
~Annie

How funny.

Good grief--what a day! Beware, dear Annie!! I would be concerned about rabies too if the coons are out during the day, no?

BTW, forgot to mention--loved reading all about your critter adventure as well as about your grampa and grannie. You are quite descriptive and adept and really make it come alive! Reminds me a bit of The Waltons. :) Becky

Thanks guys!
And especial thanks to you Becky! Nice to know my ramblings are appreciated and enjoyed. I guess I shouldn't TELL ALL like I do. Can't keep my yapping fingers quiet! I tell them to knock it off, but they just go on and on and don't listen to a word I say. Type, type, type, type, type!
And you ought to see all that I delete before I post.
Sheesh!

My Dad says I was ALWAYS an honest child.
My Mom says I was ALWAYS a chatterbox.
I just have a lot to say, whether anyone is listening or not.

~Annie

Annie I'm another who thoroughly enjoys your posts, keep em coming. I find them very endearing in these trying times. What a fascinating childhood you must have had with so many cherished memories. You really should write them down for your family and future generations.

Annette