A Typical Family Conversation

This conversation was recorded yesterday while at my grandparents' place. We were walking around the yard taking the dogs for a walk when we came upon my grandfather's beehives.

Anne, 6-years-old: Where do they sting you?
Christine, aunt: Where do they sting? I did get stung by one of these bees.
Ma: I got me stung one summer by the cicada killers.
Christine: Ew!
Ma: And, the thing got me here and here. That was excruciating up to the shoulder for a good 15 minutes. And, usually bee stings don't bother me. It was excruciating. I mean, it felt like it had driven a nail clean through my hand. It was awful.
Christine: Hm!
Ma: That thing was that big. I've seen 'em dragging cicadas across the grass, like I was looking over the edge of the pool and I happen to see one dragging a cicada.
Christine, spots the camera: What's in there?
Ma: Look, I bought the Amazon butt cooler.
Pawpaw, grandfather: The what...?
Kate, 17-years-old: THE AMAZON BUTT COOLER!
Ma: That water's cold!
Anne: Mommy!
Pawpaw (talking about the bees): They gonna be alright. Go over there and tap on the hive. See if any of them come out.
Ma: Ok!
Anne: OH NO! DON'T GO NEAR IT!
Seth, Kate's boyfriend: You can kick it and run, but that's about it.
Christine: He threw a rock at it...
Seth: I would run!
Pawpaw: Let's go, Boog.
Ma: Threw a rock at it?
Pawpaw: Get your camera ready for the black snakes.
Me: Ok! I've seen one down there before. Kate, come take this dog!
Kate: No!
Me: This dog... it won't walk!
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: What?
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: Where?
Kate: Your other arm.
Seth: You got a bee on ya.
Anne: (screams)
Me: EEW!! It's sucking me! Get it off! (Ma slaps it) OOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!
Ma: I got it! Look at that.
Christine: EEWWWW!
Anne: I wanna see!
Christine: That is nasty!
Ma: Sorry!
Kate: This dude in my fourth period confessed... never mind.
Christine: Good idea.
Kate: That he drank his own blood once. Yeah.
Anne: Wait, where's the other thing that you had?
Christine: It's right there.
Anne: Ok, good!
Christine: I got it, honey. I got it!
Me: Tara, there are snakes over there. Watch out for the snakes.
Anne: Wait, Christine! Come back. Why are there snakes over there? 'Lexa, why are there snakes over there?
Me: Uh, cause there's wood over there.
Kate: Oh, look a rock!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Christine: WHY?
Kate: Anne, no!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Ma: Come on, baby.
Christine: It'll be ok. Because it's easier to run if we're not carrying you.
Pawpaw: Come on, Boog.
Ma: Honey, they're not gonna hurt you.
Christine: We will run like the wind if they come out.
Anne: Are they mean snakes?
Christine: I know but we can move faster if I'm not carrying you.
Tara: There they are.
EVERYONE GASPS!
Me: Oh my gah, that thing is HUGE!

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 28

  On this last day of February, I give you photos taken today while hiking with Morgan and his mom. This is Nigel, a ring-necked snake that we found on the trail!! He was the sweetest, cutest reptile I've ever met!! If Sparta wouldn't have eaten him, I was seriously contemplating taking him home as a new pet! But I could never take a healthy, happy animal from their natural environment. So Nigel the snake was sent on his way and I have a really awesome memory and photographs of a really awesome snake!





Let me Ask you Something: Protection Against Nature

Today would have been an amazing finish to a great weekend. Unfortunately, I got slapped upside the face with my depression and didn't enjoy the day as I should have. So when Kayla asked me if I wanted to see Cullowhee Falls with her and her friends, I immediately agreed, eager to get out of the apartment and do something energy-draining. And it would have been an amazing hike and afternoon, except for...
 In my home, I was raised to respect, love, and never physically harm another living creature whether it be a human, a dog, a gerbil, a fish, or a snake. It didn't matter if the creature was dangerous or not. We respected nature, let it go its own way. Now, I've never been in a life or death situation with something like a bear or a mountain lion. Obviously, I am going to defend myself in the best way I can, but I'm going to try my best get away with both me and the animal unscathed. I have come in contact with a couple of copperheads, as they are popular around my house in Charlotte, and I've never hurt one of them. I step around them and go on my way. To me, that's how it's supposed to be.

 So when I saw a guy separated from his group swinging a big stick up and down in sharp motions at something on the ground, I began to head over that way praying he wasn't doing what I thought he was doing.

Oh, he was doing exactly what I thought he was doing!

He was swinging that big ole stick up and down on the limp body of a medium-sized snake.

"Oh yeah, there are snakes over here!" he called out to me taking my white face of horror as a fear of snakes not that I was trying not to scream for him to stop the beating that had already done its job. "Yeah, there's another one under that rock. I stabbed it but it got away."

Let me get this straight: I'm going to take a wild stab that this snake, still unidentifiable, probably did not attack you. In fact, I'd go so far to say that it probably startled one of the girls and you thought you'd do the world a service and beat the poor thing into a bloody heap. And then, oh then, you decided to stab its mate so that it can either bleed to death or die slowly of starvation because its stab wound hurts to much to go out and hunt rodents. Thank you, sir, for your bravado of beating to death an animal that would have never attacked if you hadn't picked up the big stick. Thank you even more to your fellow friend who after the snake was well beyond dead decided to be a MAN and threw rocks at it! Even better... he missed! (The snake got his revenge, by the way! We later passed these same people sitting on the road beside their car drinking beer and waiting on a buddy because they were locked out of their vehicles! Does the genius gene run in the family, sirs?)

I just want to say I have never seen such heartlessness in my entire life. That snake and his mate were probably just perched on a warm rock sunning themselves before slithering off to capture some disease-carrying mice, and oh dear, you stepped over them. It's called sharing nature and respecting it because guess who was there FIRST?
Obviously, I have a very strong opinion on this matter not agreed with by others. My friends... yeah, they laughed at me, rolling their eyes because I'm too emotional. Kayla, well she was polite, but she was kind of thrilled the snake was dead because she's deathly afraid of them. So what's your opinion?

Say it wasn't a snake. Maybe a skink Or a porcupine. What if the boy had beaten to death a porcupine? Dangerous, but it's not going to attack you unless provoked. Ok, and I understand if the snake came out and attacked them. I understand if he was backed into a corner. But seriously... he had time to pick up a stick and then beat up the thing after stabbing the other one! That makes me assume the two were trying to escape. And even if they were going after the students, dude I'm banking if you can beat to death a snake, you can outrun one, too! But running away from a snake probably won't impress that girl with the double D's in your psychology class, right?
So in my opinion, I don't believe either snake deserved what fate served up in the form of a stupid boy and his dumb friends. But leave a comment and tell me: would you beat up an animal because it scared you? What rules do you abide by when it comes to Mother Nature?