Rattlesnake...

I read all the blogs and listened to everyone's warnings and knew that living in Texas in the oilfields meant the possibility (or probability) of running into a rattlesnake.  But, I didn't think one was thinking of moving in with us!  Last night about 8pm I had just started to open the screendoor to put something outside when I noticed a strange shadow across the drive just a few feet in front of our steps.  I had to stare at for a few seconds because I didn't remember a shadow like that in the flood lights before.  Then it moved!  I yelled "what the h--- is that" and Jim ran over to look, sure enough it was a 4' rattlesnake moving towards the steps!  He went outside, it stopped and then he grabbed the shovel and tried to hit it, it coiled up to strike and then headed for the brush, he finally hit it and then cut it's head off.  Don't get me wrong, we don't want to kill something even a snake if it stays out in the brush, but when it heads for us, whose to say it won't again so we had to kill it. 

The creepy thing is, that even with it's head off it moved and coiled and tried to rattle for over half an hour.  I read that you put mothballs under your rig so we did that several days ago so that didn't work.  David, our field service tech, came to fill our diesel tanks about 9pm, he took the snake and said that maybe they like the heat generated by the motorhome or generator, who knows, maybe?

David weed wacked the taller weeds where we walk the dogs and I can't tell you how careful we will be from now on!!  Jim will go into Cotulla to the Ace Hardware and get us some 1/2" mesh fencing that we can put along the step side of the motorhome so maybe we won't have to worry so much stepping out of the rig.

As for the well, traffic has slowed down now that they are finishing up odds and ends and the latest guess is that it will be another 3-4 weeks but again, that's just an estimate.

Take care and watch where you step!