that’s not a stick

Yesterday, it was pouring down rain and I was sitting by the window soaking the view in when I had an idea. “Would you wanna take maternity pictures of me in the rain?” I asked Aaron who was sitting on the couch. “Sure!” Aaron replied with enthusiasm. This is one of the many perks of having your husband as your second shooter. 😉 So I changed my clothes, handed Aaron my camera, and we headed outside into the downpour.

The shoot was so much fun and I cannot wait to finish editing some of the images. But, we both experienced something brand new during this endeavor that I cannot keep to myself. So here’s the story –

For those who don’t know, we live on a bit of property. There’s a field right next to our house so that’s where we went to take the photos. We had just finished taking some and I was walking back to do the next thing when I saw this dark stick looking object in my path. I stopped (thank God) and looked at it a little closer and noticed that that wasn’t a stick – that was a snake!

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I screamed (can you blame me?) and Aaron started laughing at me because he thought I was screaming at a stick (one that he had carelessly walked by slightly earlier). But when he looked at it again, he saw the tongue slip out of the creature and his eyes got big.

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I was gone. I hopped quickly through the field back to our driveway (let me add that this is probably the fastest I have ever moved since becoming pregnant), but Aaron stayed behind and took pictures.

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When it had slithered away, he called me back saying it was gone and we could continue the shoot. I walked back VERY hesitantly, looking cautiously at the ground and analyzing every step I took. We got the few more shots we wanted, then proceeded back to the house. “I am now second-guessing every stick I see!” I said. “Me too!” Aaron replied.

So there you are – after a year of living here, I have officially seen my first live snake in the wild. We looked it up that evening and found out that it’s not a poisonous snake – it’s one that eats rats, mice, and other snakes so we actually want it on the property, but I’d really like to not see it again. 😉