Yes, that is the sight that greeted me when I looked out my bedroom window yesterday afternoon. Three humongous snakes, all coiled up and hissing (bonus points if you name the song I stole that last phrase from). These dudes were at least three feet long, fat and brown and yellow. They seemed to be fighting amongst themselves (or mating, I have no idea!) and they were hissing and trying to bite each other. I did NOT tell the kids about them because I didn’t want them to freak out, but I will give them a generic “wildlife you may encounter in the backyard” talk at some point.

Two of the snakes eventually detangled themselves and slithered off into the open space that borders our backyard. The one on the right hung out in the yard for a while until I called my neighbor to come scare it away (my husband was at work, lucky guy). I’m pretty brave, but not when it comes to snakes. My neighbor chased the snake with a broom and it totally went into defensive mode, posing in a striking position. But it finally decided to head on off to find its compañeros and maybe gang up on some mice or something.

My neighbor suggested I let my dog out into the yard to scare away the snakes. I said, “You’ve seen my dog, right?”

Does that look like a dog that snakes would fear? I don’t think so.

I wish I could learn to appreciate snakes, but I can’t. I just can’t! I wish they would stay out in nature where they belong. But then, when nature is separated from your backyard by only a wrought-iron fence, you can’t expect the wildlife to respect your boundaries.