Thursday, May 14, 2015

what passes for excitement around here




Last week, the tank that holds the water that the pump pumps from the well over at the shop failed. Meaning that some seal at the bottom of the upright tank gave way and was spewing water out into the yard.

The shop is on city water, having converted over at the same time as our house did (before we bought it) when the city was putting in water pipes for hydrants of which there is one across the street from our driveway. There might be one more house on city water on the street but everyone else relies on their well. The well and the pump and the water tank were still there and, as far as we knew, functional, so we turned the pump back on thinking we would use the water for the garden and it has held for a year.

We have no idea how long it was spewing water, couldn't have been more than a day or two, but now the pump is off again. It's an old well and all kinds of things go wrong or deteriorate or erode so I'm not sure we will do anything about it. We'll see.

Anyway, I was working in the shop and Marc walked back there to check it out now that the standing water had soaked in. Next thing he was back bent over, pale, hand on heart; just call the ambulance now, he says. He had a close encounter with a 'brightly' colored snake about 20” long, slithered over his sandal clad foot. First snake sighting of the year! When I quizzed him about it he said he and it were going in opposite directions as fast as they could so he didn't get a good look. It was probably a coral snake, very venomous (but little bitty mouths) and very shy, they would rather run away. They feed during the day as opposed to other snakes that mostly hunt at night. He liked to have had a heart attack.

Needless to say he never made it back to the tank for a look.




15 comments:

  1. oh, close call! after your copperhead encounter a year ago, YIKES!

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  2. Heart stopping, I agree. We're limited to copperheads and rattlesnakes, and that's enough. When we were growing up the rule was leave them alone and they will leave you alone. Sounds like both the coral snake and Marc were attempting to put that into action.

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  3. I guess there are those times in our lives when a near-heart attack would be welcomed when balanced against a snake bit.
    I'm glad they both went their separate ways.

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  4. I have a live and let live policy with snakes; I leave them alone and they leave me alone.

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  5. The closest I ever came to stepping on a coral snake was in Mexico in the Yucatan at the Coba site. Luckily, I did not step on it which would have given it permission to bite me.
    Water.
    Snakes.
    We live parallel lives.

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  6. Yikes! Could it have been a king snake? Yeah, I'd just leave that pump turned off if that's an option!

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  7. I have went from rural back to the well.The expense made it more reasonable.

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  8. Just reading about it gave me a start. Glad there was no need for the ambulance. Maybe he can check out the tank once the ground is fully dry.

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  9. Oh my, a venomous snake in the yard. I would sell the house and move.

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  10. when we first moved here a decade ago, we switched over to city water. We kept well water for watering. It worked out well cuz it tasted horrible.

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  11. Oh stars.....just reading this gave me the willys

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  12. YEAH --Just seeing it and I would have been a goner.

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  13. Excitement can be rather terrifying. Oh my goodness in short parts and open-toe shoes! I cringed so hard when you described the slithering bit, that my Piano Man had to read what I was reading!

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  14. I've never even seen a poisonous snake here, and Peggy has only seen one--a rattler--although we've spend a lot of time in the woods and desert.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.