My second worst fear!

[Valerie]

It has come true! Funny thing is, it's not scary to me, now!

When I was a kid, my second worst fear was of snakes being in trees and falling out on me.

Yesterday, I was coming back to the house from letting the chickens out, and I almost stepped on a really long corn snake. It was a good three feet, if not a little bit more. Once I recovered from the shock, I followed it to see where it would go. Right up the pecan tree!!! I have never seen a snake climb a tree before! I just stood there like a dork with my mouth hanging open, watching it go up up up!

I had read that they could climb, like in chicken coops and stuff, but I have never seen it before. It was actually pretty cool, how it worked. It just kept pushing bits of itself upward against that rough bark. I bet it lives in that tree and comes down at night to hunt. I don't leave eggs in the coop overnight, so maybe it won't find them as a food source. I don't think it would want to go in there during the day! Twelve chickens and a turkey would do a number on a snake!

[Cyngbaeld]

Copperheads, rat snakes, moccasins, all climb too. There was a huge rat snake in the barn this morning.

[Valerie]

Oh man, I did not need to know that!

[michelle]

Neither did I!

[guimauve]

:-) I don't mind snakes too much, but one jumping out of a tree would be a big surprise!

I used to tell ds when he was little not to walk under trees when he could help it, and keep moving when out in the open (birds of prey!)...poor thing grew up thinking it was because a coconut or some other big fruit could fall on his head, he didn't realize we were avoiding snakes (and moss bugs)!

[Cyngbaeld]

You do have a screen over all the vents on the roof, don't you?

[Valerie]

The roof of my house, yes. The chicken house, no. Do you think that snake would hurt the chickens? I guess I better keep my eyes peeled before I walk in there, huh?
I don't go in it much, though. I get the eggs through a separate lid on the back of the nest boxes, so I usually just go in there for freshening up the shavings and cleaning.

[Cyngbaeld]

Be sure to never stick your hand in a dark nest box. Flashlights are good.

[Valerie]

Noted. I try to make sure I get all the eggs out before dark, and I do take a flashlight when I go out at night, just to make sure I don't run into the electric fence in the dark.