sneaky snake

Yesterday's sunshine and warmer, balmy weather had me convinced, that yes- this was the day to find the elusive mushroom. But first- I promised myself and a co-worker that I would first plant another bed of lettuce, swiss chard, peas and carrots. I did. By 5:00 I had those chores done, ran into the house and picked up not one, but two mesh bags for hunting- I was realllly optimistic. Walked to the woods, Gideon and Gracie leading the way- Black Dog not too far behind, entering from the West side. (As the wind was blowing towards us, I always try to enter against the wind so the deer won't catch my scent before I catch a sight of them...)Into the brambles and over the rotting logs, around the pond- right to where I just knew the mushrooms would be waiting for me. Nope. Just the guy up above, he startled me a little- the garter snake. He thought he was hidden quite well, never moving- and I thought he was just a little too close for comfort, but- his appearance means mushrooms and soon. Snakes have their job to do, I don't like them though- they scare the hell out of me. But yesterday, I didn't fear him like I usually do, snakes have an irrational effect on me- I've been in the woods all my life, ran across many of them and have never been bitten. My Dad is more of a woodsmen than I, he even looks like a tree, sort of. He's never been bitten either. I don't even know of anyone personally who has been bitten- except one goofy guy who I barely knew, who stated and showed me his Rattle Snake bite. Maybe snakes only bite goofy people, the kind who would be proud to lift a pant leg in a busy office and say, "Looky there..." and show you a really hairy, scarier-than-a-snake limb. Anyway, where was I going with that?! Oh yes, snakes- they show up anonymously, invisibly just about anywhere and can scare you, wreak havoc...but usually they are as frightened as the rest of us and just slither away. I don't like to encounter snakes anywhere, but I suppose if all the world were flowers- we'd never know just how beautiful the garden of life truly is if we didn't have some reptiles lying in wait to show us the ugliness there too, making the flowers, like friendship- even more beautiful. Thanks. Take care-