the snake that got away

i didn't know until we returned yesterday, while i was waiting for my stepson (i actually thought i had officially lost him!) that the group up ahead saw a gopher snake cross the road. so cool! the big bummer is not only that i missed seeing it, i would have caught it for them in an instant to see up close.

in my previous life (first marriage kind of stuff) my first husband was obsessed with snakes, we had dozens and dozens at all times. we even caught a rattle snake off the bluff at this very same wildlife reserve. we hunted diamond backs in the desert near palm springs, driving at night and looking for them getting warm on the highway. not my idea of fun now, but 15 or so years ago, i guess it was exciting. we belonged to a snake club and returned everything back to where we had caught it, especially if they were poor eaters. poor eaters meant a live mouse was left running around in the cage, upon which my dad would let them go saying they deserved a second chance, more than once i found him gently talking to a mouse and setting it free out back.

back to mr. gopher crossing the road, this would have been an easy catch, darn!