Life in France

A not every day story of normal people trying to live their dream in France starting at the beginning and ending?

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Of Cats and Snakes

Now, I don't know about you but I'm not a great fan of those creatures that slither along the ground without legs, no not worms but snakes! I'm not keen but Lynda positively does not like them at all. Being English and moving from the suburbs where a snake was unheard of (or at least NEVER seen) to the middle of the country where they are common wasn't in the plan. Nobody told us about them until AFTER we had this little episode!

We have a French pussy (calm down she is a cat) called Willow and she is a little sweety. See earlier posts for picture. Now Willow is an excellent hunter often presenting us with dead mice or even live ones which she plays with then kills and eats, charming eh? Anyway, this one day I'm just sitting down with a cup of tea in the sun when I hear Lynda shout. Now when she shouts she SHOUTS, it means get here NOW NOW! So I put my tea down and wander up the side of the barn to the front where Lynda is pointing at the cat and saying "she's got a SNAKE, true she had or rather she was trying to get it, it was coiled up hissing at her and trying to strike at her. Neither of us knew what type of snake it was or even if it is poisonous, it was a pretty colour though! So what to do? I tried to get the cat away from it, no chance but then I didn't want to get too close to the snake either as it wasn't to happy with things. What to do, Lynda going frantic, cat jumping backwards and forwards and snake got cat fur in its mouth.

Into barn and got a shovel and a rake! Err why you ask. The plan is to get the snake onto the shovel, hold it down with the rake and move it somewhere else at arms length of course while Lynda gets cat into house. First problem is to get between cat and snake. Managed this eventually and Lynda grabbed cat leaving me to deal with our not so happy hissing friend.
As I got the shovel to touch it it sort of went dead!! No not DEAD but I thought it was. Got it on shovel, well most of it and holding it on with the rake walked 100yards to bottom of road and put it into the field. No sooner did it touch the ground when it became VERY much alive!!!! Boy is it fast or what? I don't know who is meant to be fastest it or me but it didn't pass me as I ran up the road away from it.

Cat seemed to be Ok but to be on safe side we rang our friend Gunter, described the snake to him and he said " oh nothing to worry about its a coulevre (type of grass snake) not dangerous as such, but to watch out for the vipers" eeeekkk VIPERS..... They err poisonous.... hmmm a little give you a nasty headache and make you feel sick a little. OK don't want to meet one of them then. Evidently for any English reading this its an Adder but here its a Viper! Not seen one yet and hoping not too. Keeping eyes well and truly open...Pass me a drink please tea gone cold need something stronger......... Head swiveling 360° watching!!!!

1 Comments:

  • At 8:34 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I'm deathly afraid of snakes. I was hiking earlier this year and I had a breakdown because it was in my path and I could not make myself jump over the snake or go around in the shrubs.

    If I don't see another one in my life, I will be fine and dandy.

    :: Mona ::

     

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