We were walking in an arboretum last week and as we went near the edge of a pond, our daughter caught sight of something, reached into the water and grabbed it. “It’s a wandering garter snake!” was the excited announcement. You expect college to bring changes to your children, but this was a fairly large shift that I didn’t see coming. This same child used to scream every time an Asian beetle flew in her direction. I’m pretty sure that in a not-too-distant day in the past, she and I would have hit high C in perfect unison if we’d spotted a snake in our midst. Chalk it up to the herpetology class she’s taking (along with her husband and our youngest son). The study of reptiles and amphibians has brought about this astonishing transformation in our fair young maiden. Who knew?
The snake curled around her hand and then began gripping and squeezing it, apparently not too happy with its current celebrity status (I took a lot of photos). We bid it a fond “adieu,” and went on our way, marveling, mostly about the snake. But me – I was marveling about my daughter, she who was now the Snake Handler. I doff my hat to her.
I’ll probably delete this in the morning. Snakes – ugh.
Lynniebeemuseoday 