Hi.
I lived in Montreal for 50 years. The weather there ensured that there were no snakes to speak of, save for an occasional garter snake once in a while. However, when I moved to South Florida 6 years ago, I started seeing snakes at least once a week, I was freaked out.
But life saw to it that I would lose that snake aversion (herpetophobia). A friend of ours lived with us for 3 months. One day, he brought a ball python (python regius). I was horrified. Slowly, I became attached to that gentle creature and since our friend was not taking any care of the snake, i decreed that the snake would be handled every day. She would also get the best care we could provide.
That baby has become our pride and joy. When I go on a cruise, I miss my snake. Cruise lines are adamant on one point: NO SNAKES ON BOARD! Lucy must stay behind. My wife is as inftuated with Lucy as I am. When our friend decided to go back to Indiana in an unsafe car, I put my foot down and told him that he could go wherever he wanted, but the snake had to stay with us. My wife was upset with the idea. She was secretly plotting his demise. He would have to pry the snake from her cold dead fingers before she allowed any bad treatment to come the snake's way.
I have snakes slithering around in my garden. They never bothered me. I never bothered them. I know there are quite a few wild snakes that have taken up residence under a few full-grown blue agaves and it's fine with me. They keep the opossum population down quite efficiently. They are nocturnal and non-venomous. I don't worry about them. They don't worry about me. And the groundkeepers in our development give the agaves a wide berth.
Here is a picture of Lucy after I managed to overcome my fear of snakes. She was just a wee hatchling, then. That was 2 years ago. Isn't she fabulous? Gosh, I am beginning to sound like those parents who pull out pictures of their kids out of their wallet at the drop of a hat. I should take a picture of her again. She has grown quite a bit since then. She's 3.5 feet long, now. She spends whole evenings wrapped around my neck. She also enjoys climbing on my head, where she spends hours on end wrapped around my shaved cranium.
Happy gardening to all of you.
Sylvain.
