Passover and Snakes

Molly, the cow, lowing in the barn, happy with her grain but disappointed to not be on her tether, grazing. Our oldest and youngest goats are bleating, upset that Farra has put her goat, April, out to browse. April's bell tinkles as she chews her way around the fresh spring growth, her belly full with her first kid(s), due within the next couple weeks.

The peepers are peeping, the chickens have settled in their coop with only an occasional squawk, the summer evening bugs are tuning their legs and voice boxes in preparation, the breeze is picking up and cooling down but still carries the light scents of spring. Damp earth. Grass. Sunshine. Daffodils. Forsythias along the drive.

All this revealed through my open bedroom window. I'm confined to bed, having hurt my back pretty bad yesterday morning. I could mope. I could fret about the work to be done in the garden, the seed potatoes that need to be cut and planted, the greenhouse plants that need hardening off, the barn addition that needs to be finished, the laundry, the whatnots... maybe tomorrow. Today Yahweh's granted me strength to focus on his blessings. =) And it's a Sabbath, so I wouldn't work on those things if I could.

Our family celebrated the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread today (aka Passover). It's a celebration of Yahweh's raising up the savior Moses to set free our spiritual brethren, the Israelites, from bondage in Egypt, as well as his raising up our brother Yahshua to set us free from our sins, to redeem us, to show us how to live pure lives, how to love. The unleavened bread represents a sin-free life. And it's tasty.

My parents also keep this feast and came out today to celebrate with us. I have no idea what went on while I was in bed, but did get to visit a little bit when they came in and I'm sure Bobby and the children had a good time with them. Family is awesome.

After my folks had gone, the three older children went to play in the creek. On these nice days they seem to spend every free moment by the creek. Atira spotted and Farra caught this groovy water snake.

MeMom had just reminded them today of our family tradition (instituted when I was a child) of rewards for the first snake of the season and the largest snake of the season. Can't just sight it, have to catch it and have witnesses. Here they are (in my bedroom), in their wet creek clothes, after discussing how to split the moolah.

Little Brook, just waking from her nap, wasn't too sure what her sister was holding...

Here's Farra, confirming snakey's identity with the Missouri Reptiles and Amphibians book: a Midland water snake, subspecies of the Northern (aka common or banded) water snake.  They have a gland that produces a disgusting smell (note Bobby, above).

Note: this is the largest snake my children have ever caught, though Farra was after a 4' black rat snake last summer. They are not allowed to pick a snake up unless they can identify it (and confirm it's non-venomous status).

Neither here nor there, but maybe of interest to someone... We have five venomous varieties of snake in our state, three of which are rattlers, one is the Copperhead and the other the Cottonmouth. The common water snakes are rather aggressive (the book says "pugnacious"), but fairly clearly distinguishable from the Cottonmouth. In my 20 years in MO, with much time spent in field, wood and stream, I have only ever encountered one venomous snake. A smallish Copperhead, last fall. It was crossing a paved hiking trail and the kids saw and recognized it immediately.

I grew up with snakes. I think they're fascinating creatures. I get this from my mom, who got it from her dad. Mom had boas and sometimes a python or two when I was growing up, as well as different local species at different times. Not just snakes but lizards, turtles, frogs, etc. Mom would take our menagerie to schools, camps, girls scout groups, whoever was interested, and teach about what she loved (with a creationist/young earth worldview hard to find in such educators today). It was incredible how folk's attitudes changed toward reptiles by the time Mom was done. Incredible how knowledge can help overcome fear. A teacher's aid or nurse that was so afraid of snakes that she wouldn't even enter the room (but listened from the doorway) would bravely come forward and touch the tail of a 6' boa. It was a neat time and I would love to see my mom do it again. When we moved to MO I had a hard time fitting in but soon was recognized as the "snake lady's daughter."  Who knows what that did to my future.  ;)

I admit, that although I like them I have never gotten used to holding them. Just don't care for the way they feel clinging to my bare arms or squirming in my hands. The only time I ever held one of our boas (the small one) was in front of my class, just to be cool. The only reason I caught them in the wild was for that reward.   One time I was hangin' with my aunt (mom's sister, who also likes critters) and we went into a Best Buy store with our hair done in high pony tails with baby Ball Pythons wrapped around them in place of ribbons.  That was fun, too.  In the hair they don't bother you so much.  When they start to hang down in your face they bother other people.

I carry on the family tradition in a fashion. Turtles are more my speed, and each spring, the first Sunday in May, we hold a box turtle race. Come one, come all. (No rabbits, please.) We have a check-in where we measure the turtles, check their species, assign a number and then the children can paint them. Prizes are for the winner of the race, the most colorful, the sleepiest turtle (for the poor kid who's terrapin never peeps out of it's shell), the largest and the smallest. It's been a big hit. We have other games, too, and I've been trying to work in more educational bits. I get a package of literature from the conservation department and hand it out. I hope this year I can display some other reptiles and amphibians and maybe get my Mom or friend Merry (another snake lady) to share. I hope I'll be out of bed by then.

Guess that was all kinda random... Just wanted to write. Thanks for reading. More later.