2012 December 04 — Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara

The Snake Situation

December 4, 2012 · by JudyL

Thanks to all who sent me tips about protecting ourselves from snakes. I think I’ve given the impression that there are dens of snakes waiting to attack when we walk out the door. That’s not so! We’ve seen 3 rattlesnakes and maybe half a dozen other snakes in the year we’ve been here. We’re in the woods a lot! Between our walks through the woods, the garden and the chickens, I don’t think we’re seeing a lot of snakes. There are folks who live in town here who never see snakes. Even living out in the country here, if we spent a lot of time in the house or close to the house, we would never see snakes. They’re not a big problem . . unless you wear flip flops in the woods.

It’s purely a matter of being smart and wearing flip flops is not smart. There’s no way I’m wearing tall boots or gaiters when the temps are well over 100 degrees.

Flip flops, crocs and sandals will not be worn outside. Sturdy tennis shoes, and low boots are fine for around the yard and in the garden. Tall boots will be worn when we’re out in the woods at dusk or before daylight.

I’m always pulling weeds and sticking my hands in spots too so I’m used to having a stick and making noise or shaking the brush and vegetation before sticking my hands down there.

It isn’t nearly as serious and I fear some of you are thinking. In Louisiana, several times I had a snake inside my house. At least that hasn’t happened here. We saw as many snakes in Kentucky and Missouri as we’ve seen here but it’s mostly because we spend so much time outside.

· Filed Under: Worthless Chatter · 11 Comments

The Shoe/Boot Situation

December 4, 2012 · by JudyL

This morning I awoke with a mission to do something about my boot/shoe situation.

These are the “boots” that I wear when I do wear shoes in areas that I consider safe, which is basically from the house to the sewing room. These boots are soft (flimsy) and offer no protection against snakes at all.

When the man was here bringing the new propane tank, I told him that when I walk up to the tank to check the gauge, I always fear there could be a snake under the tank. He looked down at my feet and I was wearing these shoes, and he said “If you’re wearing those shoes, you’d better fear!”

So often I plan to walk across the driveway to the sewing room and end up stopping by to check the propane tank or going to check eggs and these shoes offer little more protection than the flip flops.

I already had these boots. These were my “snake boots” til we encountered a couple of rattle snakes.

They’re thick and hard and come above my ankles and they would protect my feet from a snake bite but don’t offer much leg protection.

After coming across rattlesnakes and knowing how high they can strike, I got these:

These boots come up to my knees and I feel pretty secure in them. Normally when walking through the woods, these are the boots I wear. These are definitely not boots I’ll be wearing every day though.

This morning I told Vince that I wanted different safe shoes and I thought Tractor Supply had some on sale for $39.99. I went there to see what I could find. I didn’t like the ones I found that were on sale, and the only ones I saw were $49.99. They were hard and ugly.

But, then I saw these!

They’re so pretty! Maybe too pretty for the garden and chicken poop covered yard! They’re so soft inside and they’re comfortable. I like them a lot but they were not on sale and they were way more than I was planning to spend. I tried on a few more pairs and nothing compared to the way these felt. But, I did find these:

These are kinda like tennis shoes but they’re solid leather — none of the meshy stuff on them. They’re real comfortable and while not very good for snakes, they have to be better than flip flops and I can actually see myself putting these on every day. They weren’t on sale either. I debated with myself about buying two pairs but really, I so rarely buy shoes. I decided I’d just do it.

As I was checking out, guess who walked in . . just in time to hear the total for my two new pairs of shoes! Yep . . and all he wanted to know was . . what happened to the $39.95 shoes you came in here to buy? I changed my mind .. I’m a woman and I have that privilege! I don’t think he agreed.

· Filed Under: Knitting & Weaving · 21 Comments

Spies in my Neighborhood

December 4, 2012 · by JudyL

No matter where you live, there are nosey neighbors. Don’t you hate that? Folks move out in the country to get away from spies. My neighbors have lots of land . . they deserve some privacy . . til Judy moves in across the highway and she always has her camera or her phone with her!

Yesterday we walked up to look at the gate. We haven’t put any “decorations” on it yet but we have found a guy who will cut a design for us so eventually, we’ll get it looking snazzy. For now, it’s what the gate builder could build quickly. Notice it’s held shut with a rope. The “board” was bad in the gate opener and the new one should arrive today. Getting this gate installed has been quite an ordeal!

But, while looking at the gate, we noticed that across the highway, the neighbors were trying to convince their cows to move into a new pasture.

I can tell just from peeking through the fence that herding cows might be a little more work, and maybe a little more dangerous than herding chickens!

I said to Vince . . “Hurry! Let’s run back home! Quick!” He wanted to know what was the hurry and I told him that I wanted to get the RTV and go help them! No way!!

And, I think he took the RTV keys and hid them. Oh well . . I guess I can always help herd cows in the Highlander.

Seriously, I felt like I was sitting in the movie theater watching an old western movie on TV where the cowboys were rounding up the cattle except the cowboys across the highway gave up their horses and uses four wheelers these days. Guess we didn’t see too many four wheelers in the John Wayne movies, did we?

Texas is so fun . . even if I have to hide behind the fence and watch the action and I don’t get to help with getting the cows to the other pasture. Maybe next time . .