Today at church I was one of the main door greeters and then helped with the Waves children group during church (K-3rd grade). June's memory verse was "Be joyful always" so we made Joyful Journals. I told Pastor Daggs I could preach next week - just kidding. We had about 15 kids in two groups which Kris and I called the more talkative group and the calmer group :) I think the journals were fairly successful. I will help with Waves again two Sundays this fall.
Yesterday I ran lots of errands and was hoping the weather would clear off so I could mow and luckily the sun came out in the morning. When I got home I checked the grass in the front lawn to see if it was dry enough to mow and got around before it got too hot.
Now...the time I mowed when I saw the two snakes by the side of the house in the back yard and one was very close to the front gate - that was when I decided I would always get everything out I would need when mowing (trimmer, clippers, lawn bag, broom, weed killer, etc.) and then shut the garage door. In the past Mike and I would always leave the garage door open until all the mowing was done - but I thought what if one of those snakes went under the gate into the front yard - it wouldn't take anything for it to go down the steps, be in the drive and then in the garage and I wouldn't know it. And if Mike and I were running in and out of the house through the garage we would leave the basement door open too - no more. I was not taking any chances a snake could get into the garage let alone into the basement from the garage.
I always mow the strip of lawn that is between my drive and my neighbor's to the south and guess what jumped out in front of the mower but a green garter snake with a yellow stripe! I backed up and then shoved the mower forward hoping I had run over the snake - with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and the snake was just there and then it moved - great. I walked to my two neighbors' houses to the north to see if any of the men were home to pick the snake up and take it to Legion Park across the street - no one home - great.
I mowed the parking and then headed to the main part of the front of the lawn. Last year I had seen a snake right by the retaining wall and yesterday I saw one there - so that makes two snakes in the front yard. I am not happy. My neighbor gal to the north comes home with her too little girls and looks at my face. She's like, "I'll pick it up and put it in the park for you." I'm like with your bare hands?! She's like, "Sure, they don't bite." So she comes with her two cute little girls following. Now, this was not a pretty snake, it was a smaller butt ugly dark snake. She takes one look at it and won't pick it up because she says it looks scary - great.
Evidently we scare the snake - hahaha - and it starts to slither down my front lawn slope - and one of her little girls starts shrieking. I'm like wonderful - that one will probably need therapy. My neighbor is bent over shaking her keys at the snake and I'm stomping by the snake and it's slithering pretty quickly across my parking until it decides it wants to turn around - I headed it off at the pass to keep it heading due east to Legion Park. We get it into the street with one of us watching the little girls so they don't go into the street and the stupid snake stops in the middle of the street - we were actually hoping it would get run over by a car. So I walk out into the middle of the street when it's safe to keep chasing it on into Legion Park - I made sure it actually went over the curb and into the grass into the park. I'm sure I looked "interesting" stomping in the middle of 4th Street chasing a snake but you know what - I don't care. As I said to a guy driving by as he looked at me - I'm getting it out of my yard.
By then I didn't think I could mow the back yard because there are 4-5 snakes back there but I prayed and drug the mower back there and it wouldn't start. Later the mower started just fine - it must have gotten flooded but I have no idea how it would have flooded when it was working just fine one minute and then next I was taking it to the back yard like I normally do. FYI a green garter snake with yellow stripes was next to the mower that slithered off when I yelled at it when I got the mower to start.
I was talking to Dad yesterday on the phone and told him that I was going to call the pest company that takes care of my termite/bug program - they have a snake program to talk to them about it - I've had enough. I wasn't willing to pay for the snake program last year but I just might be willing to pay for it this year. I know snakes take care of varmits aka mice for the most part. But.....I'd rather have mice than snakes. At least mice are fuzzy.
I also told Dad that Genesis 3:15 was definitely at work in this household.......
And I will put enmity between you and the woman.........
This verse referes to Eve and the snake after Satan/the Devil used the snake to trick Eve to sin.
Celebrity Apprentice ended a few minutes ago - way to go John Rich!!!!
