Somewhere to play.

Ideas ... revisited

Notes;

(1) Summer and snakes:

Green is the color - and red - and blue - and all the colors there are.
These are summer colors, everywhere one looks, there is color.
Still the winter colors linger on this year, waiting for summer rains to wash the hues away; grey, brown, and dead.
The weaver birds are rushing to get the nests in order as the eggs are waiting to be laid and hatched.
There in the shadows lurk another life form who wait as well; it hibernated all winter and is famished ... the snakes are on the prowl.

The Cape cobra is described as nervous and deadly, and has an attitude.
To date we have met up with two Cape cobra and one brown house snake.

Wednesday, when we arrived home, our 'helper' was at the car and started off what he had seen.

The biggest, meanest, most colorful snake he has ever seen, the where, and the end of the story is - I took the snake reference book - and he identified it as a Cape cobra, of a particular color variation.

Personally, I have never seen a live version of this color, it is described as being - butter-yellow to dirt yellow with brown/green specks - which allows the maximum camouflage possible; and the length is about two meters plus, that is well over six feet six inches.

Thursday we got home and a very agitated helper called me over to come and have a look - - -

There at the stone wall was about 400 mm (16 inches) of brown house snake sticking out from a hole between two rocks, very dead, and slowly being pulled in by another snake.

The previous day's story in mind, we thought it would be our master piece doing the nasty here as cobras are known snake-eaters.

I phoned around; police first; who directed me to a snake wrangler.
On his arrival we decided to start breaking the wall down, the house snake had already gone from sight.
After about two hours and hardly a stone left unturned, we called it a day, and I invited the wrangler in for a look at my photo collection of the snakes to date we have found here.
Hardly had we started , when the 'helper' came screaming in telling us a snake had entered his house and he had almost stepped on it.
This all happened by torch-light.

The snake was found behind his fridge, caught, and bagged, it was not our monster, about a meter and a half (five foot) Cape cobra of the golden yellow variety; quite common around here.

At least our effort was not wasted, he left at nine pm and at ten pm he sent me an e-mail that the snake had regurgitated the house-snake.

Now I still have a master piece of a monster on the loose, and a broken down garden wall to rebuild.

(2) Kids and stuff

Normally the kids are left alone to do their thing, as it is their time.
Who-ever said that kids have their time should have their heads read!
Kids don't want their time, they want their parent's time - not so that one would notice it, then - when they need the parents, the parents should be there.
Again - an over-simplification of a very complex issue.
Woe is the child who has no parent to call on, a good friend in stead would have to do, or a partner worth the salt.

“The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop” Mark Twain

(3) Red October (South African style)

An undertaking which is very difficult to keep.

Never discuss certain topics on the internet. i.e.

Religion, politics, family, sex, and anything else of a sensitive nature.

That leaves the weather ...

Even the weather is turning into a sensitive subject.

to be cont.