You Have Easter Egg Hunts, Loren has Easter Snake Hunts

This Easter weekend we had our nephew and wife along with their three kids over for the holiday. Plans included an Easter egg hunt for the youngsters. I was on the far corner of the property when I heard a loud female scream, then another scream and then I saw the kids running to the front of the house followed by more screams each time they rounded the house. It was warm and sunny out and I had a hunch what all the excitement was about.

I walked up the hill and I was correct, snake season had begun. There was a pile of garden snakes with others slithering all over the place. Twenty-some years ago I noticed that the first warm day in April the snakes would exit from a hole on the far corner of our property. Snakes eat bugs and are said to be good for gardens so I left them alone. Guess I made a mistake because in just the past five years the population has exploded to include the entire four-plus acres. They're out of control.

There we are, two adult women stomping their feet and shrieking along with the three kids screeching like a band of eunuchs that had inhaled helium. Throw in my nephew and I beating the ground with a hoe and shovel and it made for quite a scene. I had another one of my "I'm glad I live outside the city limits" moments.

Final count shows 16 snakes dead and at least one that got away. Believe it or not, the gals then proceeded to hide Easter eggs and the kids went out and found them without so much as a peep. I guess when candy is at stake nothing else matters.