How many times did I say snake?

So, my last post was about photography, and wanting to "snake" my way through jungles, etc. Well, I might want to change the term "snake". I drove to Bennett Springs to pick up Jake, who'd spent a few days with my dad at his cabin. After the four hour drive, I decided we (actually MY hind end) needed to take a nature hike. Jake led the way, and before long, I reached out and grabbed him, keeping his gigantic size 14 shoe from stomping on a snake. Now, not that I am opposed to killing snakes. He could have stomped it to death, and I may well have joined in after it was done flopping. After all, having lived in the country, I grew up with snakes and had no problem standing in the yard screaming until my dad got a gun. BUT, next to water, you never know what kind of snake it is, and since I didn't have my "Poisonous Missouri Snake Guide" with me (yes, I have one of them, too. I cannot stress to you how much I hate snakes, but...), I wasn't sure if it was poisonous. We stood perfectly still until, after "jumping" into the water, it eased itself up on a rock and some kind of algae. Like I said, I hate snakes, but I also have a horrid fascination with them when I'm near enough. Instead of running, then, or screaming for my dad to grab a gun (he was at the cabin, but knowing how well I can scream, he would have probably heard me, and at this point, he'd likely just roll his eyes and shake his head), I started taking photos of it. Totally creeped out, I must say, I kept snapping away. Disgusting! It's eyes were round and not vertical slits, so I think it was non-poisonous; I couldn't quite tell the shape of its nose, either--the sun was shining and causing a glare, so...

Needless to say, I was thinking hard about the use of "snake" so many times in my last post and talking about that post with a few others. I see snakes, though, all of the time. It's because I'm hyper sensitive to my surroundings and scan the land as though I'm searching for land mines or something! If I'd not been with Jake, he wouldn't have seen the snake. He had no idea it was there in front of him, which made him stop and think about how many he'd been near the last few days and had no clue. Then, he got to thinking about what if a snake would "snake" by and somehow get into his waders as he was fishing in the water. I shudder to think! Good grief.

Well, back at camp, with photos loaded, we ate dinner with my dad, who is obsessed with this living like a cowboy. I don't get it, but, hey, whatever trips your trigger, I guess. He cooks using a dutch oven, which I must say made a really nice looking roast, but there is something about living in a one-room cabin, with no running water--thank god he has electricity (despite wanting to be a cowboy, he hates the heat and likes air conditioning. Of course, as a kid, when the front room had the only air conditioner in the house and my room in the attic was baking, he'd tell me to "buck up". Yes, but that air conditioner was only feet away from his room--something seems odd about that, don't you think?). Personally, I like the modern amenities of the 21st Century. Conserve, recycle, reuse, reduce, etc, for sure, but to give up running water for an extended period of time is crazy--especially when your living near a water source with snakes-good lord, there are snakes in them thar hills, fella!