Chimera Song Mosaic

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Snakes. Because of all the rain lately, snakes have been everywhere. Most recently, in the overhead light, writhing around (a little one). I was concerned about what to do if it died there, but mom then revealed that nests of snakes live in the attic. This is going to do nothing good for my reoccurring dream about high water and tons of snakes knotted under the lip of the counter (you know that place at the bottom where your feet are supposed to go, what's it called?). Anyway, while we were watching, it writhed out of there. It is amazing that snakes are able to move at all on land, as it seems they do nothing but tread water in the air.

Okay, next most recent snake was in the pond (or maybe that was yesterday, which would make it sooner, but whatever); my mom decided it was a water moccasin. Not a casual thought! It was huge and probably ate the tiny teal duck that is missing.

Next to the last snake, the one that I found curled in a duck's nest. We had been watching this duck tend her nest for weeks, this after being gang raped by the mallard drakes, which plucked her nape dry. Anyway, she was a good mother, even though the dogs stared at her. So this one day, like a week ago, I go out there to check on her, and she is fretting in front of the nest, and one of the eggs is yellowish pink with studs like tiny cloves. I thought I was tripping, but no; that was an egg a curiously red-speckled snake had swallowed. He was working on another one, but there were still several more to be saved. I figured he would wait and disgust his meal like my snake, Phred (not a snake hater! I raised Phred the boa from a baby), would do, but no; by the time my mom and I got out there, he had finished them off, so we finished the snake off with a blunt hoe (bludgeoned).

I feel slightly bad about killing the snake, expect this duck had put a lot of effort into her eggs, and she was very upset. Also, if it were a water moccasin (I don't know about that oink part, but the rest of the snake was dull yellow), we don't want to encourage that. After it was over, I found a lone egg that some other duck had squeezed out in a fright. I picked it up with two branches and put it into the empty nest. After a few hours, she went back to the nest, but a couple of days ago I found it was empty once again.

Then there was the snake in the garage: a nest of finches were learning to fly one day, and I came home to a frantic chirping. Lance and I moved a couple of buckets and found a smallish snake rounding on a tiny fluffy birdlet. Lance scooped up the snake (carefully), and we put him in a Ziploc in the freezer, thinking later we would discern what kind. But this wasn’t the right thing to do, apparently, because since then it’s been nothing but snakes.

I’m going to Qatar in a few days, so I’ll be writing from there. Also, some poems are appearing next week, Monday through Friday, at No Tell Motel.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LARS!!!
- posted by Deborah Wardlaw Pattillo @ 9:57 PM