Elvis has left the building...
I am happy to report that my unwanted houseguest that I blogged about yesterday has vacated the premises. The snake, (who I have dubbed Elvis Downey Jr.) ended up spending the night in the laundry room with the door shut tight, and as many towels as I could stuff under it without breaking the door. If he was intent on staying the night, I was intent on him staying in the laundry room. I have to admit I left some lights on. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I thought I had heard that they didn't like light,... but mostly I left the lights on for me. The softest rustle or noise and I was up checking and rechecking the door. Fort Knox would have been easier to break out of or into...
Today I awoke and peeked inside the room and didn't see him. I knew he was there though, ...somewhere. I decided that I would run the washer and the dryer in hopes he would emerge from wherever it was he was stashed. It was awhile after the washing machine had ended it's cycle before I went to recheck for "Elvis". I cautiously opened the door, my eyes scanning the floor for the form of a snake slithering across it. My eyes were automatically drawn to the top of the dryer next to the washing machine. There,... as if to mock me, was the snake,...his tail wrapped around a clear plastic pitcher I had hunted up to use to scoop him up into,... whenever I found him.
I mentally kicked myself.
His head waved.
I tried to coax him with a dustpan into a tiny trashcan. He had other ideas and dived across the machine and into linty oblivion behind the dryer.
I was getting a bit desperate by this time. I googled on-line and read about snakes. I wanted him gone. I didn't even know what kind he was. He had no stripes. It wasn't one of those friendly garter snakes. He was greyish with big brown splotches on his body. After reading on the snakes of Nebraska, I had narrowed it down to two possibilites, either a Bull snake, or the venomous Prairie rattlesnake. Nevermind that the prairie rattler is only found in the western two thirds of Nebraska and I live in the southeast, or that I didn't hear or see any rattle... If there is one thing I know, it is that anything is possible around here.
There was then a knock at my door, no it wasn't the snake, but one of my neighbors. After some hemming and hawing I finally blurted out,... I need help,... I have got a snake. After many assurances that I was not kidding, my neighbor graciously offered to help rid me of my snake squatter. He crawled on the floor looking for it. I stood by with a death grip on a broom. We ran the washer and dryer again, while he ran a yardstick under the appliances,and under the cabinets. I continued vigil with the broom. We were both ready to give up when there was no response, and no snake.
It was after a few more pokes and prods around the room that we found it. He was curled up in the laundry basket... with my unmentionables. There is nothing quite like the embarassment of having your neighbor save you from a tiny snake AND carry your laundry outside to rifle thru your knickers for him.
....(okay it is at this point I want to warn all of you on any comments you leave on this blog to keep it clean! ... and yes the irony has not escaped me....)
I do give my neighbor guy kudos though, he kept a straight face thru most of the snake ordeal. He wasn't sure what kind of snake it was either, but he assured me it probably was harmless and that he hated to kill snakes as they are very beneficial. He asked if he could let it loose in my garden and I mumbled "okay", while the girly part of me wanted to yell, "kill it, kill it, off with it's head". Before my neighbor left, he winked at me and said, "now the snake had to be at least 3 feet long, right?" I stuck my tongue out and retorted it was at least that big and tomorrow it might be even bigger.
I am sure it will be all over town,... if it isn't already....
Snakes in my unmentionables....
It's going to take awhile to live this one down.
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