For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Monday, May 7, 2012

The Last Laugh is on Me!

There's never a dull moment around this house!

It was a beautiful day today, so when I let the dogs outside I left the door to the screened-in porch open to get some fresh air.  Then I went about my work and forgot it was open.

I came downstairs a few hours later to this...

She was waiting proudly for me to see her latest catch!
I wasn't quite sure if it was alive or dead, so I put my shoes on.


 Maddie wasn't sure either.


It wasn't moving, so I moved in a little closer to inspect it, ready to make a fast get-away if necessary!

I saw blood on the floor (there must have been a fight!) and also in the scales of the snake.
Its eyes were open - do snakes close their eyes when they die?

I got the kitchen tongs out to nudge it and grab it if it was alive.

It just flopped.

 So I got brave and took some really close pictures with my macro lens.
The scales look really cool!

Then I flipped him over and checked out his belly.

I was amazed at how shiny it was!

I also saw a few puncture wounds at various points along its belly.
I felt like I was doing an autopsy!

When I saw the blood around his mouth, I felt a little bad for him!
I decided he was dead.

I used the tongs to pick him up and put him in a ziploc bag.
I didn't throw it away yet because I had to show Vance - he LOVES reptiles.

When Annie got home, I showed her the bag.  I noticed there was some black slimy stuff in the bag in addition to the snake.  I wondered if snakes poop when they die!

An hour later, Vance got home. 

I went to get the bag and noticed the snake was in a different formation - all coiled up.

Interesting.

I picked up the bag and the snake stuck its tongue out at me!
OMG!
Vance laughed at my reaction and I cringed thinking back to how close I was to this creature - my face only inches away taking those close-up pictures!

He told me that snakes play dead when they are being attacked.
He took the bag outside and let the snake go in the woods.
He said it slithered away like nothing ever happened to it!

So the last laugh is on me!



 (For those of you interested in photography, this photo (creepy though it may be) is a great example of a shallow depth of field.  Notice there is only a thin band of the photo that is actually in focus (where the eyes are).  The rest of the photo is blurred.)


1 comment:

  1. Gayle, I can barely LOOK at these photos...I can't believe you actually got that close...OMG. I would have shrieked so loud you could have heard me at your house!!

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