Retire Where???

[ezdays]

more rattlesnakes than cars on the road

This is why you won't find me as a permanent resident of the south or west. I have a pathological fear of snakes of any kind.

While traveling in Texas we pulled into a rest area. Among the signs was "Watch out for snakes." I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about garter snakes. Then you enter the rest room and all around the base are 6" openings, perfect little snake doggie doors. Have you ever tried taking care of business while your head is spinning like the girl in "The Exorcist"?

Well, I don't have a phobia about snakes, but I'll do what I can to avoid them. Being on the edge of the desert, we had many other creatures like coyotes and turnkey vultures that kept things neat. The snake we had curled up against our patio door when Sumpter250 and Ray M. were visiting was dispatched down the hill behind the house in two pieces by the local police. Fifteen minutes later, it was gone.

One more rattlesnake story. We had pack rats outside our house and had pellets around to get rid of them. One day we had a snake with a lump in its belly that wasn't moving too fast. Apparently it swallowed one of the rats that had eaten some of the pellets. Not good for either one. Well, I chased the snake down the hill and finally shot it with a BB gun. About an hour later we went down to get rid of the snake and all that was left was its fangs and rattle. We hoped that whoever made a meal of the snake didn't fall victim of the pellets as well. :cry:

Oh, in case you wanted to know why we moved, well, that was a major reason. We got tired of sidestepping the snakes, gila monsters and other desert creatures.