Story of Slitherus

Ok, so you all (or just maybe Nikki) have been asking me to tell the story of the snake. So here goes. Let me first just preface this by saying that at my cabin we live among many of God's creatures. For example:

We have tons of rabbits and jack rabbits that run around, coyotes are abundant, and mice/rats are even more abundant. They all love our cabin. So this weekend when my parents and I went to visit again, we were not surprised to see some mice running inside the cabin as we found many a dead carcass living inside the walls since doing some renovation. Last weekend (ok, two weekends ago) my dad went up to the cabin by himself to do some work. He built a staircase. So my mom and I were excited to see the improvements and look at the stairs. All was fine and dandy...looked great! Then, all of the sudden my mom says, "Oh my heck (insert other word here), there's a snake!" My dad and I don't believe it. We go to where my mom is standing and sure enough there is a snake slithering out from under the new stairs! We were practically peeing our pants! My mom made all sorts of comments like, "It's six feet long..." and other exaggerated things. So good old dad came to the rescue and squished the snake with a broom until he could pick it up (with gloves on mind you) and dispose of it properly. Before I go further in my story, here are picks of our snake friend we'll call Slitherus:

Does he look six feet long and poisonous to you? I didn't think so. Anyway, once poor Slitherus was caught (and just chillin' in my dad's hands for quite a while) we had to let him go. But my poor mother couldn't bear the thought of turning old Slitherus loose by the cabin for fear that he would just find his way back. So, sadly, we chose to dispose of him. And this is how we did it:

It was painful to watch. Funny thing is, my mom said she wanted to dispose of Slitherus in the most humane way possible. I think my dad went back into the cabin and shed a tear after it was over. I, on the other hand, watched him swell and smolder...

Bless him, poor Slitherus. Rest in peace good buddy.

{HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!}