Snakes, good reading and chores

"And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:13-15

A few evenings ago I was feeding the pigs right about dusk when I heard my daughter Rachael yelling something. I thought to myself "What in the world is she doing?" when I make out the word "Snake!" I instructed Lianna to see about her brother Oran, both were with me at the pig pen, and I ran (it was not a pretty sight) to the house. I got a look at the snake just about 5 feet from the porch and heading under the house and grabbed an ax, then I changed my mind and ran into the house and grabbed the .22. Rachael had been one footfall away from stepping on him. (We thank God for His protection.) I shot him twice and we had a good lesson on venomous snakes with the children.

He was a Velvet Tail or Timber rattler, about 3 feet long stretched out. Fortunately, this species of rattlesnake is incredibly docile. This one let the dog lick him and only rattled after I'd shot him once. Still, he was much too close to the house and my family.

Here's a good illustration of the triangular head of a pit viper.

And here's a picture of his working end.

A lady on our NewOkiePioneers email list sent me these wonderful pictures of a Copperhead snake, the other common venomous snake in this area.

*********************************************************************************I I know people find me an odd juxtaposition. I have no running water in the house, but I have a blog and a website. I've never owned and don't really know how to load a dishwasher, cellphone jargon like "Bluetooth" just makes me cock my head and go "Hmmmm", I've never watched "Nip Tuck" or "Big Brother" and Napster makes me think of someone who likes to sleep in the afternoon (which I do on occasion), yet I love the internet. Not the internet of chatrooms and YouTube, but the internet that is the largest library in the world at my fingertips. Here's just a sample of what I find fascinating:

Core Historical Literature of Agriculture

Home Economics Archive

Digital Book Index (more than 1500 agriculture titles)

The Soil and Health Library

The Food Timeline

Documenting the American South

Project Gutenberg

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I recently did a mental walk-through of the chores that had backed up here on the homestead starting in my mind's eye at the gate and walking around the whole barnyard and house and came up with a list of some 30+ projects, not including major building projects. I just shake my head at women who say, "Oh I have to work or I'd just die of boredom."

Gate plantings
Redo gate signs
Plant fruit trees (along drive?)
Sort and burn woodpile by garden
Transplant giant reed and Jerusalem artichoke to right-of-way
Clean up old wood pallet in garden
Plant garlic
Plant winter wheat
Clean up shower area, make storage for bathing supplies
Move blue tank to goat pen
New worm beds
Move bathtubs to house for planters
Level rabbit water tank
Arrange rocks and set bridge timbers around parking area
Clean up goat pen
Finish clearing and burning in east pasture
Clean out milking barn
Clean lots
Clean barn and feed area
Clean woodshed
Spread woodchips
Transplant horehound bed
Build water catchment
Finish west trellises
Fence to clear west of house
Clear little garden
Add 4th side to compost pile
Clean up greenhouse
Plant trees
Weed south walkway bed
Weed north walkway bed
New rabbit barn
Tool storage at woodshed

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A couple of tidbits:

Here' is another great piece by Michael Bunker that I downloaded and saved. It speaks eloquently about one reason the modern world is such a mess.

Here's a really good recipe for Chicken Fried Steak. Even if you haven't had much success with chicken fry (as we call it), try this recipe. I made it using buffalo rump roast, sliced about 3/4" thick and pounded thin.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy