06-02-2012, 01:00 AM
0
The only thing that really worries me is what could happen to Charlie, or Gizmo. Charlie is more a lover than a fighter, but he is also curious, and can get into trouble by wanting to check everything out. And being about sixteen pounds, if he happened to get bitten, he would have to get medical attention immediately. I have since looked up the nearest emergency vet hospital, just in case.
As for killing the snake, I probably won't. The odds are that the snake has already relocated somewhere else, because it knew I was watching it for two days in a row now. I'm not one of those people who gets all worked up over a poisonous critter. Also, killing it won't dent the population any.
I guess I've lived around shakes so long that they don't give me fits any more.
I remember one time when I was going through Ranger School at Benning, my squad was tasked to set up a blocking force against another group moving through the area. I set up behind a nice old log, and positioned the M60 machine gun I was carrying, so the bipod was around the end of the log and pointing toward the trail about 30 mitres away.
I had been lying there for about twenty minutes, and none of us were allowed to move so as not to give ourselves away. After awhile I heard this rustling noise, and out of the end of the log popped this copper head. It just suddenly appeared, and eyeballed me for what seemed like an hour. man that tongue was flicking in and out, and I stared right back at it. I guess it was no more than eighteen inches from my face. I was thinking "this could be a great time to break cover". But I didn't move, the snake finally lost interest, and went back into the log.
I learned a valuable lesson concerning snakes that day. If you don't fuck with them, they won't fuck with you. In fact they will do just about anything to get the hell away from you if they can. By the time the other force tripped the ambush, and my M60 had run through a belt of ammo, I'll bet every snake in the area was beating a hasty retreat from the entire area. After that little experience, a three week Jungle training phase in Panama was a breeze.
Incidentally, if deadly snakes bother you, you don't want to live in Australia, because they have more dangerous kinds of Mr. NoShoulders down there than anywhere in the world.
As for killing the snake, I probably won't. The odds are that the snake has already relocated somewhere else, because it knew I was watching it for two days in a row now. I'm not one of those people who gets all worked up over a poisonous critter. Also, killing it won't dent the population any.
I guess I've lived around shakes so long that they don't give me fits any more.
I remember one time when I was going through Ranger School at Benning, my squad was tasked to set up a blocking force against another group moving through the area. I set up behind a nice old log, and positioned the M60 machine gun I was carrying, so the bipod was around the end of the log and pointing toward the trail about 30 mitres away.
I had been lying there for about twenty minutes, and none of us were allowed to move so as not to give ourselves away. After awhile I heard this rustling noise, and out of the end of the log popped this copper head. It just suddenly appeared, and eyeballed me for what seemed like an hour. man that tongue was flicking in and out, and I stared right back at it. I guess it was no more than eighteen inches from my face. I was thinking "this could be a great time to break cover". But I didn't move, the snake finally lost interest, and went back into the log.
I learned a valuable lesson concerning snakes that day. If you don't fuck with them, they won't fuck with you. In fact they will do just about anything to get the hell away from you if they can. By the time the other force tripped the ambush, and my M60 had run through a belt of ammo, I'll bet every snake in the area was beating a hasty retreat from the entire area. After that little experience, a three week Jungle training phase in Panama was a breeze.
Incidentally, if deadly snakes bother you, you don't want to live in Australia, because they have more dangerous kinds of Mr. NoShoulders down there than anywhere in the world.