Oh Hell No!

The weather has been beautiful here for the last few days, but when I opened my office door yesterday morning to let in the nice fresh air there was a 17 foot long rattlesnake/cobra hybrid on the doormat. I didn’t scream like a little girl, because no sound would come out, even though I tried. But I can tell you right now, that air wasn’t so fresh anymore!

Terry insists it was a garden snake of some kind and was only about three feet long, but what does she know? Screw fresh air, I’m never opening that door again and we’re moving to Anchorage next week! Just like my character John Lee Quarrels says in one of my books, I am only afraid of three kinds of snakes. Big snakes, little snakes, and sticks that look like snakes.

My author friend Cameron Lowe asked if I called the National Guard to burn the place down. Forget the National Guard, I remember my Infantry days. I called in an airstrike! Two of my neighbors, Jennifer and Rebecca, both commented on Facebook that they have seen lots of snakes around here. This is my first one in four years, and it had better be the last!

And don’t tell me how harmless or beneficial they are! I’ve heard all about how they eat bugs and rodents. We have lizards all over the place here, and Terry tells me they eat bugs, too. I can handle them being outside if they keep their distance, but occasionally one sneaks inside. I have gotten to where I don’t scream and jump on my desk when I see one in the house anymore. I just calmly call Terry and stay on top of the desk until she ushers it back outside. But now the snake is going to eat all the lizards outside, and when they’re gone, I just know it’s going to get in here and look for more.

As if that wasn’t enough drama for the day, I had a good writing day yesterday, getting about 6,000 words in, and only had one chapter to go to finish my new Big Lake book when my computer froze up and I lost everything I had done for the day. I have auto save turned on, but for some reason it doesn’t work with Dragon and did not save a word of it. I was not a pleasant person to be around for a while after that happened. I tried every recovery trick I knew or could find, but it was all gone. So frustrating.

Hopefully today will be a better day. The citrus trees we ordered will be delivered and planted this morning. Assuming the damn snake doesn’t eat the guy who will be doing the work.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Free Ride, the thirteenth book in my pal Ben Rehder’s popular Blanco County mystery series. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.

Thought For The Day – You can never talk reason or sanity to someone who has reached unreasonable conclusions due to insanity.