Mea Culpa, Pituophis Catenifer

I was going to write about basil yesterday... or cilantro... or maybe strawberries. I hadn't decided, but as you can see, fate intervened...

After breakfast, I'd wanted to putter a bit amongst the herbs on the back patio before it got too hot. As soon as I stepped outside though, I saw a distinctive shape behind the lounge chair. Retreating behind the the safety of the sliding-glass door I saw that it was indeed a snake. I ran for Hubs who came over and assured me it was a gopher snake, "They're good snakes—they eat gophers."

There was one hitch... the poor little dear was caught in the plastic netting we'd had over the blueberry shrubs all summer. The plastic netting I took off of the blueberries two weeks ago and hadn't put away yet. My bad. My really bad.

The snake had wiggled itself through the netting in numerous places until it could go no further. It was tangled up in it but good. Unable to back out, it had only gotten itself in deeper during its efforts to get free. 

We got a pair of scissors and very carefully snipped it free from the snaggle of netting constricting it, one plastic thread at a time. When we finally finished, we let it go in the front yard... where the gophers are... you know, in case it was hungry after it's ordeal. It turned back to look at us, muttered a few choice expletives, shook it's head slowly back and forth, then slithered off... 

OK maybe I just imagined that last bit. Guilt will do that.

I'm still just sick about having left the netting out and causing the problem in the first place, but I'm so thankful that we were able to save the critter. I'm also really really glad it happened before hubby left for work.