The Serpent in the Garden

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”  Genesis 3:1

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Walking around the garden is indeed a peaceful activity and it is a lot more peaceful when there are no snakes.  In the late afternoon, when the sun is casting long shadows across the landscape, I like to walk around in the garden just admiring His handiwork and enjoying the great outdoors.  So yesterday, in the cool of the evening...

I was walking through the garden, checking out the sweet corn ripening and picking some squash and cucumbers.  It is always such a nice time of day and it is very peaceful and rejuvenating...

I was looking through the rainforest-like foliage of the cucumber vines growing on our trellis made out of a cattle panel searching for cucumbers to pick.  Sometimes they are hard to find and when you do finally see the cucumber, it is over-ripe and bitter and good for nothing except perhaps save it for seeds or throw it over for the chickens to enjoy.  I did find some perfectly sized, crisp cukes that will be a refreshing appetizer once chilled, sliced and sprinkled with apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper.

As I was reaching in to pick a nice cucumber, something amongst the vines caught my eye, making me jerk my outstretched arm back...

It was this guy - he's a harmless rat snake.  We call them chicken snakes around here.  They don't have fangs but very small teeth and they primarily 'make their living' eating rats.  However, and to our dismay, they also eat eggs.

I have a friend who tells me that they are like a heat-seeking missile, and they will seek out rats and kill them.  Therefore you shouldn't kill them.  They are good to have around your place - unless you have chickens (and/or a wife!!)  I waited for the evil serpent to speak to me and fortunately that did NOT occur.  After deliberating for a brief minute on what I should do, surveying the pros (elimination of rats) and the cons (disappearing eggs, baby chicks, and an extremely unhappy wife), I did what Eve SHOULD HAVE DONE in the Garden many years ago.  I went to the garage and got my Fiskars hedge shears, reached into the vines, and I lopped his head off.  The blood flowed freely from the now headless snake, and I picked up the head of the snake and tossed it over the fence to the chickens.

Then I pulled the headless snake out of the cucumber vines and chopped him up in little pieces - bite-sized morsels, you might say, for the chickens to enjoy.  The predator literally became the prey.  The hens couldn't hide their exuberance.  Oh, what joy to behold! 

Snake snack for the chickens

The hens clucked and thanked me as they grabbed their supper 'to go' and scurried off into the pasture with other hens who didn't get a snake snack in hot pursuit.

I hate to eat and run, but...

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

Cursed are you more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you will go,

And dust you will eat

All the days of your life;

This serpent in the garden was cursed indeed!