Tuscumbia-It was pouring down rain when I got home so I let the hooligans (my three rescued Border collies) in the garage on the house and closed the door down to a height where they could get out if they wanted too. They have a dog door on the barn and nice beds under the stairs, but they have to sleep out in the front yard no matter what the weather so they can see what’s going on in the neighborhood.
I put my mail on my truck when I went to the barn to feed. Later I thought about it and knew that I would have confetti in the morning if I didn’t get it. Blackie and Patches’ kept barking at the door after I went back in the house. Levi was nowhere to be found. That should have given me a little clue that something was wrong. I finally got tired of listening and went back out to see what the uproar was about. Half of my garage is full of potted plants and hanging baskets brought in for over wintering. Blackie kept lunging at a group of plants. I got closer for a look and told Blackie she was imagining things. Blackie has a mission to eliminate every creepy crawly critter on the property. I leaned over to upright some pots they had turned over and turned my head toward some hanging baskets inches away and stopped in mid sentence. There stretched out across two hanging baskets was a rat snake. Now I had gotten comfortable after feeding the dogs, and ladies you know what I mean, no shoes, and just sweat pants and a T-shirt on. I put one glove on, grabbed the snake, and tried to get to the opener button with Blackie jumping up and grabbing the snake’s tail while trying to locate an umbrella. Did I say it was pouring rain and the umbrella I found only covered one side? So here I am standing out in the pouring rain barefooted with a snake in one hand, umbrella in the other and Blackie jumping up and biting the snake’s tail and the snake is not happy and I’m trying to decide where put it so it won’t turn into a thug of war rope. I finally decided to take it to the road and put it in the ditch on the other side of the road. Since Blackie couldn’t get to the road because of the underground fence it would be safe. Just as I turned it loose one of the neighbors drove by going home, so my hope for secrecy was dashed. Here I am standing on the side of the road in a pouring rainstorm, one glove on like Michael Jackson, no shoes, only sweat pants and a T-shirt on holding half an umbrella. He drove by real slow. After getting in the house I had to call his wife and explain why this crazy woman was out on the road like she was.
Moral of the story, if Blackie and Patches are chasing something and Levi is not around, it’s longer than a mouse.
