Life in a Barn

So... I'm enjoying a relaxing afternoon of fixing things and decorating around our master bedroom and bathroom, when I look around the bathtub and notice something "decorating" the room that I certainly did NOT put there!

Look closer...

A freakin' snake in my bedroom!!! And I'm thinkin' it got in a few days ago when Keith left both the screen door and the french doors open overnight, so it's probably been in there for at least 3 or 4 days! I was TOTALLY freaked out! I went up the stairs to tell Keith about our new friend. He came down to check it out and told me to catch it. I was sure to thank him for the assistance. I went to the garage and quickly gathered up a few boxes and went to the kitchen to find some thongs. I know, not the best idea, but I was kinda freakin' out. So, I went back to the bedroom to think some more while Keith followed me around with the camera. I then decided that trying to catch it with my hands (with gardening gloves on) would be my best move. So, I suited up in the gloves, but couldn't make myself lunge at my scaly friend. I backed up a little and decided to try the boxes approach again. So, at Keith's suggestion, I scared him into the corner behind the rice basket...

That worked! He slithered back behind the basket!

Now what? Oh yeah... grab a box and move the basket (and breakables) out of the way, hoping that he didn't jet further into our bedroom!

Sllloooowwwwllllyyy move the box in closer...

And he's caught!!!!

I headed straight outside for the release!

And the little sucker quickly slithered away, while showing us how big he was (about 3 feet long!)! (Click on the picture to see a bigger version where you can see the snake crawling through the plant.)

Another animal that didn't belong in the house has been banished! We can now add this snake to our "get out of our barn!" list of screaming frog (yes, SCREAMING frog!), countless mice (including the magic mouse, although it's been a LONG time since we've seen any mice), so many spiders that we barely flinch when we see one anymore, and the creepiest possum ever! Whew! I guess that's life in a barn! :)