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Barnyard Buddies:  Bubba Just Got a Snake. Pic Pg. 3  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 7:46:00 PM
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Today me and Kansas were out in the yard getting ready to fill up water troughs and buckets. I reached down to unhook a hose and Kansas saw a snake right next to her. We have stepping stones leading from the driveway to the little house. It was right on one. I really didn't see much because I took off running. Kansas was right behind me. We got to the house in about 3 seconds. I thought about it for a few more seconds then got mad and went to get the shovel so I could go kill it. But it was gone. I could not find that snake anywhere. In just less than a minute.
So we stayed inside for awhile and I worried about Mazie not having water. So I went on outside with a hoe. I never did see that snake. I went ahead and filled up water buckets and mowed the yard and garden. Came in and gave Kansas a bath and went back out to water the new stuff I had planted today. Came back in and got Kansas to bed. I kept hearing Bubba barking but didn't think anything about it. He barks all the time.
So I took a shower. Bubba was really barking by now. I looked out the door and he was standing by the driveway in the grass. I thought it might be that snake. So I went out with the hoe and a flashlight. It was the snake. Bubba grabbed it several times and shook it and threw it up in the air. He kept doing that awhile.
And he killed it. I got as close as I could because I hate snakes. Even dead ones. But I don't trust them at all. And it was only about 2' long. And it was not a black snake like what was in the barn a few weeks before. That one was at least 7' long. This one also has a pattern. It was too dark to see but I do believe it was a rattlesnake. It's right before I have to go into the gate to get the goats in the morning. If I can I will look then. But I do think it is a rattlesnake. I hope Bubba didn't get bit. He seems to be ok.
I am so proud of that dog. He was in the house earlier today when we first saw it. He didn'y give up and he got it. He is such a good dog.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
Edited by - kristin sherrill on Jun 13 2011 4:34:23 PM |
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paulas party flowers
True Blue Farmgirl
191 Posts
paula
golden valley
az
USA
191 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 8:02:59 PM
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eekkkkes!!!j ya bubba...keep an eye on him...snakebites are hard to find...i hate the to...yeck! Paula
the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.they must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 8:11:29 PM
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You have a good dog Kris! Give him a treat for his effort!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2011 : 8:28:48 PM
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I just checked on Bubba and he's ok. The snake is in the same spot so it is dead! Sophie is laying just a few feet from it too and snoring away like an almost 14 year old dog. She sort of helped Bubba. She cheared him on. They will both get nice big bones tomorrow.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 05:06:50 AM
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I don't look at snakes generally, but this one has diamond shaped pattern on it's back. I did not see a head. Don't know if Bubba got it or a cat later. But I don't think that's the one me and Kansas saw earlier. From the little split second glance I did see of it, it was black and shiny. This snake is dull and brown with darker diamond shapes. A very pointy tail. And short and fat in the middle. I took a picture and will get Dd to uplaod for me so I can put it on here for y'all to see and tell me what it is. I sent a pic to my step dad and hubby so maybe they might know.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 05:36:50 AM
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I'm glad it was not poisonous. If Bubba was bitten he could abscess in a day or so. Keep an eye on him. I chuckled to myself last night thinking about Bubba the Wonder Dog!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 09:38:25 AM
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sounds like a gopher snake to me, and they are good snakes, they will help keep the rodent population down. Be very careful with letting your dog kill snakes, cause one day it may be a poisonous one, and he could/will get bit, and anti-vemon treatment is extremly expensive...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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FieldsofThyme
Farmgirl Guide & Schoolmarm / Chapter Leader
4928 Posts
USA
4928 Posts |
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Sweet_Tea
True Blue Farmgirl
194 Posts
Tara
Newberry
SC
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 6:54:39 PM
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ugh, I hate snakes too! You sure do have a great dog... I'll tell you.. I was missing eggs, and I was told it was probably a snake.. I'm thinking my cowboy just was telling me this to scare me... well no, I went down there to the chicken coop last week and stretched out across my path was a HUGE black snake... it was like 2 feet long or more... I screamed.. and It struck at our lab and my doberman puppy doesn't notice it and kept right on trucking to the pond.. So it's all coiled up and hissy... and I couldn't get bailey to come to me, so I'm thinking great.. I looked around and found a long metal pipe, by finding I mean I took it out of the fence and i commenced to screaming and beating it.. haha.. after i broke it's back i started trying to aim for the head... I found it later half eaten by one of the dogs... ugh... i hate snakes..
I'm glad you and your dog are safe!
Farmgirl Sister #2974
~ http://notsosweettea.blogspot.com/
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears"
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 7:14:13 PM
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Kansas got on line to look up rat snake and copperhead and I just looked up gopher snake. It does not look like either a rat or gopher snake. It looked more like the copperhead. But then my step dad said that Bubba would probably be dead if it was a copperhead because the poison part is in the mouth and the head is gone. Like something ate the head. I can't look for long at the pictures without feeling like I am going to throw up so I don't know. I just know the thing is dead. but it is still in the yard.
Tara, a black snake hissed at you? Oh my goodness, I would just die right there if that happened to me. The snake in the barn in the nest of eggs just layed there as I ran screaming. It was still there when my friend came about 15 minutes later. It's dead too. But it was at least 7' long. Huge snake. You sound like me. I was going to go back out and kill the one we saw earlier but it was gone.
Kristina, what a great dog you have! We had ground hogs when we first moved in here. They came with the house. And they LOVED canteloupe too. We don't have them anymore. Bubba hated those things.
Tina, how do you stop a dog from trying to kill any snake? this is the first time he has done this. I hope there will not be any more but living where I do it's bound to happen.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 7:56:32 PM
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Kris, you use training, basic to begin with, then once he has the idea, go more advanced, he MUST learn the command of "LEAVE IT", which means back away and don't touch, if he does not listen to your commands, he will end up getting hurt or killed...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 8:16:42 PM
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Ok, well that's totally opposite of me hollering get it Bubba, get it! So I have to stop that now. I am a bad dog momma. I did that with stray cats too. I'd tell him to get that bad cat and off he'd go. Oh no. I just thought about the chickens that get in my garden. Darn. He's beyond training now. Me too. But I will try to be better.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2011 : 8:20:18 PM
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Kris- I laughed out loud for real at your last post. Swear it made me gafaw! Heck I'm still smiling!
Thanks for the laugh!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Kelly Wall
True Blue Farmgirl
430 Posts
Kelly
Apison
TN
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 06:14:47 AM
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well, at least that is one less snake you will have to worry about : ) . If it was a copperhead, it is a good thing Bubba killed it! I know Kansas is a barefoot girl, good thing you all saw it before taking the next step on the stepping stone! We have seen black snakes sunning on our driveway, the stretch all the way across it sometimes, and one day Abby checked the skimmer in the pool and came in screaming, "Mommy call Daddy, there is a snake in the skimmer!". We left it all day until he came home, it was just a small snake, not poisonous. However, Abby thought it was a copperhead!
Kelly
Farmgirl #238
May your bobbin always be full... |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 06:30:24 AM
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Your welcome, Connie. I am bad, I know.
Kelly, I would never get back in that pool again! I ran over a huge black snake not too long ago that was all the way across the road. I didn't see it til I was right up on it so couldn't help it. But there again, one less snake. I need to move to Ireland. I hear there are no snakes there.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 06:41:38 AM
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i have been reading along and i am shocked. i thought to my self many times, i think i want to live in the midwest or georgia. it would be so fun to live close to you kris. we would be laughing all the time. well i am freaked out. papa is scared of a dead snake. i can let them be. we have a few here. they are harmless. we do have rattlers and scorpions. they live in the rocks and BLM land close to us. here we have so many birds of all sizes. they keep the snakes in check. to even be close to a harmless snake 7 feet long i would SCREAM. WOW you girls with this challenge my hat is off to you. i am happy to hear you usually do not see rattlers on your place. is copperhead a kind of snake or is a kind of rattle snake? stay safe sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 07:11:28 AM
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Sherrye- A copper head is it's own kind of snake but is of the viper family like a rattler. Poisonous for sure. They are a bit more aggressive than a rattler because they don't rattle I guess. Their markings make them disappear against a back drop of fallen leaves and dappled sunlight. I am much more afraid of them than rattlers. The family that owned my property for the last 100 years call it copperhead hill. : 0 My sister lives across the river from me. She was bitten on her hand weeding. She was very lucky and did not loose any fingers but her pain was horrible to watch. So I am very afraid of them. I leave the non poisonous snakes alone because they keep the copperheads down. Old folks say they eat them but I'm not convinced. I think they eat up all the food so the copperheads go else where. Either way the 6 foot black snake that lives in my garden is welcome to stay! I'll try to get a photo of him. I do have one of him when he was little. I'll try to find it.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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rksmith
True Blue Farmgirl
858 Posts
Rachel
Clayton
GA
USA
858 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 07:17:04 AM
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http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/index.htm that link has excellent resources (and pics) for the snakes found in GA and SC. I have a really nifty book with pics and info on these same snakes that I used when doing demonstrations in schools with my reptiles (snakes included). It is very important to know the critters in your area, especially snakes since they are so good at camouflage. If your snake had diamonds it was probably a rattler as copperheads have saddles (hourglass shaped bands) across their backs and not diamonds. Copperheads are a species of pitviper and are poisonous, but generally not as deadly as a rattler (although they both have hemotoxic venom) and from most accounts are not as quick to strike as a rattler (they're more laid back). It is possible that if the dog was bitten it was a dry bite so he wouldn't have much of a reaction to it. A quick way to tell if a snake is venomous or not (at least here in GA anyway) is that if it has a really fat body and a triangular shaped head it is venomous. Non-venomous snakes in our state are generally longer and more slender with a more narrow shaped head. If you get close enough to see the eyes (not recommended!!) venomous snakes have pupils like a cat whereas the non-venomous snakes have round pupils (generally the non-venomous hunt in the day and have pretty good eyesight, venomous snakes generally have poor eyesight and rely on their heat sensitive pits to find prey). Kingsnakes do eat other snakes (including venomous ones) and are great to have around!
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
Edited by - rksmith on Jun 11 2011 07:18:16 AM |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 07:29:01 AM
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Cool RK! I checked it out and my snake is a king snake! Lucky me! I actually have two. One really big and one that is about 2 feet long.
I always thought the copperhead was more aggressive. Maybe that's because I'm more afraid of them cause I can't see them as easily and can't hear them either!
We also have a black racer that likes to chase frogs around the pond area. That's something to see. He really is pretty, as pretty as a snake can be, with the sun shining on his shiny black skin.
I don't enjoy being surprised by any snakes presence but I'm OK if I know they are there. My family has been warned that I will be very upset if anyone bothers my garden snakes.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 08:57:08 AM
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Where I live, we have the "Mojave Green Rattlesnake" , they are very aggressive, and carry the double toxin, hemo and nuero, deadly combo. They are pale sage green and creamy yellow colored, and blend in real well here.I know of dogs that have survived their bites, but its usualy do to a dry bite, or very little vemon release...There is a group here that snake train your dogs for a fee, to leave all snakes alone, which is the best idea...teaching dogs "To get it", is never a good idea, cause in their mind it is alright to chase and catch anything that runs from them, and is a very tuff, if not impossible thing to stop...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 12:48:14 PM
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I just forced myself to bury the snake. I am sick of getting scared to death every time I walk out there and forget it's there. I am sure the neighbors are sick of hearing me scream all day long too. Kansas had dug a nice hole yesterday out beside the fence in the garden. That's where I put it. And I made myself look at it real good. The head is still on it. It had some dirt and I had not gotten this close to it before and now it's on the end of my shovel close. The hear looked really pointy. So is that a non poisonous snake then?
I remember when I was a kid. Me and my brother would go down the road t o the golf course to pick up balls to make money. We were chased by a black racer for a LONG time. It kept coming after us til we got home. And when my hubby was laid off we mowed lots of yards to make money. I was on the riding mower out back by a barn. A big ole long huge black snake came after me on the mower! I took off and could not go fast enough. It was right behind me. I ran to the truck and never went back there again. So what would a black racer snake do to a person if it caught up to one?
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 1:50:31 PM
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Kris, LOL, I have NEVER heard of a snake chasing anyone, I am sorry, don't mean to laugh, no self respecting snake is going to chase a human being, especialy one riding a mower. Racers, kings gophers etc, will not chase you down like a predator, and if you happened to startle one up real close, unless its trapped, it with go the other direction very quickly...google snakes in your region, and read up on them, learn how to tell the differant species from each other, learn that very few indiginous snakes are much over 4 ft long, the average being 3 ft or shorter. If you give yourself a chance to learn, it will help with your fear...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 2:34:47 PM
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I've always heard they will chase things and I saw it chase a frog. Any one else been chased?
I am a kayaker and I can tell you for sure that a water moccasin will chase a boat. I can't tell you it's intention but I have been chased more than once. They are pretty fast too. They also fall out of the trees into/on your boat. I really hate water moccasins! They aren't even pretty to look at. No redeeming value I can see.
Kris- I'm still smiling. :) My sweetie laughed too.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 3:03:49 PM
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Connie, chasing prey and chasing a human being are not quite the same thing, as far as a water moccasin chasing a boat, are you sure they are not just allowing the wake to pull them along, grew up where moccasin and copperheads were all around, never had one chase me thou,lol...following out of trees, I would think was an accident, saw you coming and tried to retreat, and opps, down he/she went, but that would make even me jump, and snakes don't scare me at all...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2011 : 3:14:59 PM
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I kinda understood prey and humans are different, but I've heard stories all my life and wondered if there were any more farmgirls with an experience to share.
Nope, I'm talking paddling hard to get away! My FIL had one try to get in his john boat while fishing. My MIL was there and tells it in a way that splits my sides every time. I never said a copperhead chased me, just the water moccasins. My guess is that they want a place to get out of the water and lie in the sun. But they are not welcome on my kayak! I'm sure they fall cause they are startled, not to attack, but the result is the same!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Barnyard Buddies: Bubba Just Got a Snake. Pic Pg. 3 |
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Bubba Just Got a Snake. Pic Pg. 3
