Scribbles and Scrambles ~ What Lurks Upon

So. When I said I was looking for something worth writing about. Something exciting worth posting, an attempt to offer up a story that makes the dearth of stuff last week simply fade away into nothingness, I didn't expect this.

SHUDDER.

Last night while having a delightful conversation with Rob, while looking around our lovely gardens, admiring the growth, the baby veggies, the blueberries that are turning delicate shades of green-blue to almost blue...we each grabbed weeds now and again. The rain has guaranteed lushness and that includes weeds. We talked about getting out the organic "bug" spray, how to keep the blueberry harvest for our enjoyment and not for wildlife consumption, we talked about all sorts of things.

While talking, we pulled those weeds. You'd think there wouldn't be a lot because we have garden cloth. Long black strips that we've laid out over the whole garden and then punctured for our plants. But weeds are hardy and determined. They have sprouted in dirt that is maybe a half inch thick on top of the fabric, and they've taken up residence in the areas set apart for our plants.

While plucking and talking I didn't do much more than glance at where my hand went. But one handful of weeds caused a slight rippling of the landscape fabrics right behind the plant where I was plucking. Oh my!!!! Within a millisecond I saw and registered that the fabric wasn't moving at all, that something laid on top of the fabric and it had yellow stripes along its sides and it wasn't simply moving but it was undulating and slithering. SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And. I. ALMOST. TOUCHED. IT. AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you haven't figured it out I am the girliest, jump on a chair, scream my brains out, completely creeped-out wimp when it comes to snakes. Spiders, mice, blood. Not my favorites but they don't reduce me to pure adrenaline powered instinct. I screamed all the way to the house, the dogs hot on my heels, a man driving down the street with his window down, slowing to a crawl at my show. In my defense the snake was nearly two feet long. SHUDDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was inches from my hand. GULP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it behaved completely snakelike. SOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Snakes are silent, blend in, and are still until you are right on top of them. EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that my heart rate is back to normal I can laugh about it. The type of laughter you might hear in a room with nice padding on the walls and restraints on the bed. Needless to say. I won't be plucking weeds in a distracted state of mind again. EVER. SHUDDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks go to my hero, Rob, who has made my garden snake-free for the moment. But those sneaky little reptiles obviously know where I live now.