Being a mother of two, my children have run the gamut on ways to wake mom up effectively, but Friday morning will go down in the books as unique. I woke up to Merissa saying, “Your big snake got out and is climbing the house.”

Prologue: The night prior I went outside to retrieve something from my car. Nothing out of the ordinary, until I attempted to go back into the house. I found my route blocked by a rather large snake in front of my screen door.

I guessed it was four feet in length, but it was somewhat curled up and difficult to tell exactly.

Regardless, it was her – another assumption on my part – and me. I grabbed a rake and my trusty bucket. She put up a struggle, but I did manage to get her into the container and placed a cover over it to “secure” her in there.

Then, I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. When people talk about an adrenaline rush, I know exactly what they mean. I sent a text to my daughter that was direct and straight to the point, “Don’t touch the bucket on the porch. Snake” and went to bed.

To Merissa’s statement that the snake had gotten out of its not-so-secure confinement, I jumped up. In my delusional state, I grabbed the prongs that I use to pick up smaller snakes – not going to work in this case.

That snake was scaling the side of my house. It looked like King Kong in the movie as he climbed the tower to the finale. Much like poor Kong, I was bound and determined to get her off my house and back into the container.

Bucket in one hand and prong in the other, I quickly assessed the situation. It was climbing up the window frame on its way to the attic. At this point, the snake is harmless and much less threatening than the night before. No way that it could strike at me as it clung to the house. Its length was still unnerving.

I started from its tail and eased it back into the bucket. When it was about half way in, I grabbed it by the neck and pulled it away from the house. It dropped into the bucket. It was heavy. I eased the bucket to the porch and covered it quickly. This time, I placed weights on top.
My daughter measured the area where the snake hung. She said it was five feet long, not four. Correction made. The snake was almost as tall as I am. It took me more than 30 minutes both times to stop shaking.

I’m writing this Friday morning. Hopefully, the snake will be there when I get home after work today. While opinions differ, I believe it to be nonvenomous.

Regardless, I will relocate it away from my property this evening.

Standard reporter Lisa Hobbs can be reached at 473-2191.around the house