Jack Terpack
Well-Known Member
I like to think that most of the people on this site are a little more careful while pursuing our chosen pastime. I try to follow sensible rules in any action or activity I take part in especially when out in the wild by myself. BUT!!!!!
Yesterday I was cleaning up an area around a huge old pecan tree in the corner of one of my small plots. At some point in the past someone must have had livestock of some sort in this area as there has always been an old rotting feed bunk under this tree. I have used it as a makeshift workbench on many occasions. IN fact, i had a pile of about 12 or 15 5 foot tree tubes laying under it. I decided to remove the old bunk and take the tubes a a couple of T-posts back to the barn. The first couple tubes had been used before and squirrels had gotten used to storing pecans inside them. I couldn't believe how many pecans they could pile in there. It was kinda funny. As I got further down in the pile, something moved a lot of soil into several of the tubes. Whatever did it was quite adept at filling almost the entire tube. I would shake them and tap the end to get all the dirt out. The last two had some grass and weeds growing over them and were much more difficult to pull out. As I grab one, it was heavy and found that, like the others, was loaded with soil. The last one was just as heavy. As I stood it up and pounded one end on the ground, I could feel the dirt sliding through the tube.
It was more than a little surprise when a 5 foot copperhead snake fell out and landed on my feet. I have no idea what he thought , but my 70 year old reactions were amazing. I didn't know I could jump four feet straight up in the air and 5 feet to the rear and land in the seat of my tractor in one move. I don't remember ever doing that before. I hadn't practiced it. The snake slithered a couple feet into some leafy matter and almost vanished. When my heart settled down, I walked over and it took me a couple minutes to find him. HE was right there, but almost invisible. He didn't move at all for ten minutes. It was like he had no idea what had just happened either. I kept an eye on him and loaded my gear on the tractor and fired it up. That was a little more than he could stand and he took off like a rocket. I don't fear snakes at all, but I give them their due. I am also thankful, because it could have been a much more serious encounter.
Yesterday I was cleaning up an area around a huge old pecan tree in the corner of one of my small plots. At some point in the past someone must have had livestock of some sort in this area as there has always been an old rotting feed bunk under this tree. I have used it as a makeshift workbench on many occasions. IN fact, i had a pile of about 12 or 15 5 foot tree tubes laying under it. I decided to remove the old bunk and take the tubes a a couple of T-posts back to the barn. The first couple tubes had been used before and squirrels had gotten used to storing pecans inside them. I couldn't believe how many pecans they could pile in there. It was kinda funny. As I got further down in the pile, something moved a lot of soil into several of the tubes. Whatever did it was quite adept at filling almost the entire tube. I would shake them and tap the end to get all the dirt out. The last two had some grass and weeds growing over them and were much more difficult to pull out. As I grab one, it was heavy and found that, like the others, was loaded with soil. The last one was just as heavy. As I stood it up and pounded one end on the ground, I could feel the dirt sliding through the tube.
It was more than a little surprise when a 5 foot copperhead snake fell out and landed on my feet. I have no idea what he thought , but my 70 year old reactions were amazing. I didn't know I could jump four feet straight up in the air and 5 feet to the rear and land in the seat of my tractor in one move. I don't remember ever doing that before. I hadn't practiced it. The snake slithered a couple feet into some leafy matter and almost vanished. When my heart settled down, I walked over and it took me a couple minutes to find him. HE was right there, but almost invisible. He didn't move at all for ten minutes. It was like he had no idea what had just happened either. I kept an eye on him and loaded my gear on the tractor and fired it up. That was a little more than he could stand and he took off like a rocket. I don't fear snakes at all, but I give them their due. I am also thankful, because it could have been a much more serious encounter.
