Speaking of Snakes

Okay, so the other day I (Jeff) was out doing some errand and Emily got the bright idea that she would clean up the deck of our house. The deck had to be cleaned up because it had several wood boards, two-by-fours, and other items that I had left there after finishing a project in the basement. When she moved one of the larger boards away from the house, to her surprise she found a snake (as pictured), who had made a leafy home on the deck.

Of course, when I got home, I got an earful about cleaning up after myself, and to be honest, I felt very, very sorry about what had happened. Emily seemed to take the discovery in stride (she did get the camera and take a picture of it). Although her first estimate on the snake's size may have been a bit outlandish (she told me it was "approximately 12 feet," I think at most it may have been 4 feet with its tongue sticking out) she simply scooped the snake up in the dust pan and "threw it away" (whatever that means). Emily is a very smart woman, but I did have to point out how stupid it was for a pregnant woman to pick up a snake she knew nothing about. I have to admit though, I was also impressed. I think if I had found it, I would have screamed like a little girl, run away, and never returned to that area of the property again. As it is, I have vowed to never mow the lawn again--you just never know when there may be a snake in the grass.