I feel so bad right now 
A few days ago we had a conversation with our neighbor, who is very handy and knowledgeable about critters. We were swapping stories of creatures in our yards and I told him about the big black snake that had been in our garage.
He shared with us that he had come across a baby copperhead once in his yard that stared him in the eye. He said they are not afraid of humans and do not slither quickly away. He killed it for protection.
So today, the same thing happened to me.
Something caught my eye and I jumped over it as I walked into the garage. Next thing I know there is a baby snake staring back at me. He was not black or green, the only two kinds I know to be "safe."
I froze for about 2 whole minutes thinking. Should I run to the neighbors? He would be gone by the time I got back – maybe IN the garage. Could I scare him up the driveway? He’d probably come back. [Keep in mind during this time I thought he was poisonous because he froze to look at me.]
Finally I realized there was a hoe right behind me. I reached for it. Whack. x 3. I was very brave. I will spare the details, but they were not pretty.
I HATE killing things – even spiders (hence letting the black widow free on the back of the property) but I knew I would be forever freaked if I let the copperhead/cottonmouth free.
Just as I had hoped, Matt appeared on his bike just a few minutes later to find me shaking with the hoe.
And as it turns out, the snake was not poisonous
Hope I will be forgiven by the snake gods.
***
I did manage to "clean" both the inside and outside of the house.
Lawn is mowed.
Floors are clean.
I was quite hungry at 1:30 when I finally thought about lunch. I dug into a Great Harvest loaf of flax oat bran and made a sandwich, devouring an end piece in the process.
Avocado, tomato + cilantro
I made a side salad with some romaine, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and cottage cheese. It got gaggy by the end and I didn’t finish it.
Leftover apple from last night with Barney Butter
Still have one more bathroom to clean!
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
Awww, poor snake. If I would have stayed calm seeing it I probably would have done the same thing. It’s better to be safe than sorry… I think the snake gods will let it go.
Good job cleaning the house and mowing. It looks great!
Don’t be too hard on yourself as you really didn’t know that it was not poisonous, It would have been a worst case scenario had it gone into your garage.
Aw, I’m sorry, girl. But then, if it had been poisonous, and you hadn’t acted, things might be much worse right now. You did the right thing under the circumstances — I hope you feel better soon! xoxo
aww… better safe than sorry! the snake gods wont be mad
You will be forgiven!! Nice looking grass and I think we have the same bbq!
zest
Just some snake fyi, the poisonous ones have REALLY triangular pointed heads. They have really big jowles (where the poisionous sacks are). If it doesn’t look like that, it’s harmless.
Yikes! I would’ve just ran away because I am too chicken, even if it meant I’d be up all night wondering where it went!
i hate having to kill things, too, but don’t feel too bad. I don’t know all the types of snakes, and that would be scary not knowing if it could hurt you or not!
even non-poisonous snakes freak me out! in fact, my boyfriend’s sister has 8 pet snakes and i am terrified to go over there this weekend. i would have killed it too, were i not also squicked out by what to do with the remains. (i imagine snakes are much worse in that respect than bugs) ahhhh i am such a girl! don’t like foreign creatures in my space.
you *are* brave!
Awww Kath it’s okay!! You didn’t know it wasn’t poisonous, and god forbid it was and bit you!
I ran over a sparrow few years ago..and when I mentioned this to my co-workers..they were like..’its sin to kill a bird, you will have to feed atleast one brahmin (person belonging to the priest community)’ and as all of them said in unity I believed and sponsored lunch for one of co-workers. well..you guessed..they just played a practical joke on me..
Hopefully there’s a snack heaven!
I love avocado on sandwiches.
Jenn
Oh geez, I meant SNAKE heaven but I hope there’s a snack heaven, too LOL!
There will be plenty of opportunities for you to give an extra little act of kindness ot another critter.
That little snake is now providing food for other bugs and such.
Love your backyard; so serene (even with snakes lurking)…
Lunch looks great and so does your yard – it’s perfect. Sorry about the snake, I would hate that too!
You did the right thing – as the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I don’t know how you did that, you are brave! Better to be safe than sorry, you did what you had to do.
Kath, its ok. Like everybody said, better safe than sorry. I have been bitten by many snakes (it was common to come across them in my line of work) and usually did nothing about it.
Then, one time I went into anaphylactic shock. I was seriously in the middle of nowhere (on a boat). Luckily, I had my phone handy and was able to call somebody, who got my GPS location and picked me up in the middle of the river (where I had stopped breathing) and had an ambulance waiting on the shore. It’s hard to kill an animal. You didn’t do anything wrong… it was just self defense.
julie.
LOVE topping my salad with cottage cheese — whole lunch looks great!
better to be safe than sorry when dealing with somehting potentially poisonous!
I was freaking and shivering just reading about it. You were much braver than I will ever be around a snake. Go Kath!
Aww… I’m sorry to hear about your tough morning. How did you find out for sure that it was not poisonous?
Hope the rest of your day is better.
EEEEKKKK….you have so many scary things living around you! I guess thats what happens when you live in the south…..I have a feeling you won’t be encounter too much of that in VA
Oh Kath, I wouldn’t have thought twice about killing a snake in my path. They scare me irrationally. They are pretty much the only animal I think looks far better as a handbag.
As for the food — thank you again. Your photos consistently remind me I’m not eating bad food, just TOO much food. These serve as great portion control reminders.
omg. why on earth do you have so many snakes?? I may need to stop reading your blog because they freak me out so much and you’re constantly posting about them! (kidding… kind of)
eek! I hate that. I don’t ever kill critters, either, I probably would have run away from the snake, hoping it would disappear. Sorry you had to go through that!
thats okay! if there was a snake about to attack me, I would do the same thing!
i could never kill a snake im way too scared of them…i can’t even kill a large spider without completely freaking out so good job being brave!
aww kath, it’s ok. you’ll be forgiven. I would have done the same thing.
I hate snakes so much, so I don’t feel too bad for it! I probably would have run away screaming!!!
mmm that sandwich looks fantastic
omg – you are so brave! I could have never done that. I would have run screaming
awe – i would have done the same thing! but still sad! ):
I just made myself an open faced avocado, tomato, and cilantro pesto sandwich too. Mine has cheese and no salad on the site.
But a lovely white nectarine for dessert!
so sorry you’ve had a tough day. it’s better to be safe if you’re not sure. hope your day gets better!
Oh goodness…I totally would have done the same thing. Don’t feel too badly!!
oh no!! I am shaking for you. You have to make the best decisions you can with the info you have at the time. You thought it was poisonous so did the best thing you could. Poor thing–you were a superstar and cleaned. I would have hit the wine lol.
I know how you feel. I don’t kill anything to be quite honest with you. I always let the bugs out of the house so they can go free. People think I’m nuts, but hey, they have a right to live also.
I don’t know how I would’ve reacted either, not knowing if it was poisonous or not. You’re a brave woman!
I will have to try cottage cheese with my salads. I’ve never tried it before, and yours looks fabulous.
Kath,
Dont feel too bad, I would have done the same thing! Dont feel too bad… snakes (especially poisonous ones) are really scary!
-Kat
Dont even fret kath! you made the best decision at the time! no worries!
Oh my gosh you are so brave!!!! I would never be able to do that! I’m so sorry about the whole experience…I would feel the same too. You did what you could though in the blink of a moment.
On a brighter note, those lines on your grass are looking VERY straight. haha
That story gave me chills! I don’t know what I would have done. You’re much braver than I am. I love animals, but snakes frighten me like nothing else. Spiders are a close second, I suppose. Good for you for shaking it off and having such a productive cleaning day!
wow! i can’t believe you had to deal with that! i honestly don’t know what i would’ve done. i run away screaming from possums (this is not an exaggeration)
wow! i can’t believe you had to deal with that! i honestly don’t know what i would’ve done. i run away screaming from possums (this is not an exaggeration)
Don’t feel too bad! I hate killing things too but it was for your own safety. You are brave for even dealing with it!
eeekzors! That is so freaky
Dontcha worry though.. the snake gods will forgive you!
That bread looks so tasty mmm
The positive that can come of this, if there can be one, is that now you know an additional local snake that is not posionous if you were to see another one like it. And if you say it was a baby, there are probably more near… looking for their dinner…all those gross bugs and small outside varmits that also scare people when they get in your house…
Wow! You’re definitely more courageous than I am! I would have run in the opposite direction. Snakes give me the heebie geebies, so I totally understand where you are coming from.
psht, don’t feel bad, I’d say congrats! I’m so terrified of snakes I become paralyzed and wouldn’t have had the nerve or sens to pick up the hoe.Just because it wasn’t poisonous doesn’t mean it would try to take a bite
Treat your snakes as your brothers and sisters… T_T
I would have ran so fast…
Lawn looks lovely.
I probably would have done the same thing with the snake; you didn’t wake up this morning intending to kill anything.
Besides, you did what was best at the time with what you did (or didn’t) know.
In response to “Healthy,” if I thought my brother was about to shoot me with a poison dart I would hit him with a hoe too!
julie ,
OMG – what a story!
Sara,
Matt knows these things
Kath
Oh,my goodness! I would have been scared beyond my wits. I am so impressed you even managed to reach for the hoe- I think I would have just remained frozen. feel better though! just the fact that you feel bad about killing the snake shows what a kind person you truly are. I hope you never see another snake again!
Oh my goodness I would have totally freaked out if that happened to me
Here’s a way to remember if a snake (at least a striped one) is poisonous. “Red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black, venom lack.” Don’t worry about it, gotta protect your home!
OMG, that snake episode would have done me in! You are brave! I mentioned you in my blog today. South Beach Steve has a Lift Up Challenge going this week and asked us to share our favorite blogs. I have been reading your blog for almost 2 years and included it in my faves.. The last time I posted, I shared that I was down about 40 pounds from my highest, and I am now down 50! Thank you for all you do with KERF. You are an inspiration to me in many ways.
xoxo
Kat
lunch looks amazing!
sorry about your mishap with the snakey
i once exploded a raccoon with my car… heh.
-muffy
Wow, you are so brave! I am way impressed with your ability to protect yourself against wildlife…I probably would have hidden in the bushes or something. I wouldn’t feel too bad about it–you didn’t know it wasn’t poisonous!
Kat ,
Congrats on the awesome weight loss!! And thank you!
Kath
Yummy looking sandwich!! I think bathrooms are the worst to clean, so I try to get my hubby to clean them as often as possible!
awww. Sorry about that. I don’t think you should feel that bad about kiling it Kath. You thought it was poisonous after all! I’m actually proud of you for conquerining your fear like that. Incidentally, I still think you should have killed the spider!! haha
My Dad shot a copperhead in our backyard when we were little kids. They are dangerous! ! They can also eat your pets 
I think maybe you should get a local wildlife book and study up on your snakes so you’ll feel better next time knowing which ones are venomous. There is an eastern rattlesnake that is but they are very big and I think tend to avoid people more. So a copperhead IS the posionous snake you are most likely to see and they have a copper color on the head and are lighter tan colored on the body with dark markings. Pretty but deadly.
You were brave. Don’t feel bad!!
OMG….you are a brave, brave girl! I would have had to move to a different neighborhood if there were snakes in my backyard!
You are so brave…I’m so scared of snakes!! My dad lives in the Sonoran Desert and they are EVERYWHERE!! So happy there is no such reptile in Hawaii. It makes hiking a lot easier!….love your blog! Aloha, Amanda