an exciting morning in the desert

My morning was not dull.

I was walking past the front door and what do I see looking in the screen door at me but a rattlesnake. And I'm serious, he was up on his hind legs looking in, sticking his tongue out. Saturday evening G and I were watching a movie when we heard some familiar noises out on the front porch, and sure enough there were 4 javelina eating the plants. Well, we banged on the windows, banged on the door, yelled, threw things at them, they would NOT go away. Finally G got the excellent idea of throwing an orange to the other side of the driveway and they went trotting off after it just long enough for us to get to the garden hose and scare them off with water. I swear I felt like I was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I had to hold them off with water while G picked up the mess on the porch. So picture here we are screaming, banging things, hosing them down, cleaning up the mess, etc. We finally get rid of them and five minutes later, I'll be damned but they're back! But this time I hear a distinct sssssssssssssssssss! Oh, G says, that must be a leak in the hose (he said that last time). No, honey, that's a rattlesnake. Yes, behind the pot we were just cleaning up is a coiled rattlesnake, and he has decided he has had enough of this nonsense and enough of the javelina. Those stupid javelina didn't even have the sense to get away from the rattler. So I called the fire dept and they came out and took him away.

But not far enough away, apparently... I can just picture him thinking, as they snagged him again this morning, Damn! It took me two days to get back here!