It wasn't too long ago that we did see a real snake in our back yard. We filmed it, then searched online to discover it was a rat snake. And it slowly slithered under the fence and into the neighbor's yard. I'm sure it stayed there. And there are no more snakes in my yard. But that's one reason I jumped a mile (or so it seemed) when I saw that fake snake yesterday.

But I was reminded of an event that happened not long after I got married (coming up on 13 years ago). We lived in a different house. I'm sure when my husband bought that house, he imagined Baywatch in the backyard as it had a pool. Unfortunately, he met me the weekend after he moved into that house and his dreams died a quick death. LOL!

That pool had these huge trees surrounding it. One tree would drop all it's leaves in the pool. Then the next month, the next tree would deleaf. Then the next. So we were constantly scooping leaves out of that pool. My husband would just dump those leaves into an trench that ran along the backside of the pool. It was about 4 feet deep and it made a lovely compost area. And I was not happy about it. I decided one weekend when my husband's father was visiting (and willing to do chores) that we'd all get back there and get rid of those leaves. I was the first one into the trench. And the first one out. Screaming a scream that Psycho would have been proud of, I left the pile of leaves and the thirty-some-odd snakes in that mess to the boys.

What is it about snakes that is so disgusting and creepy? Yet, when they're safely behind glass, I can honestly say they are fascinating to watch. But I don't like them in my yard!