SNAKES ALIVE – AND DEAD!
The recent warm weather has reminded me of the
large, almost park-size garden we took on and enjoyed in France. Most houses
out in the countryside around Mayenne are stone built, and have land attached,
some with ‘dependages’ too – and to begin with, much of this acreage needs
considerable taming and tending. Our cottage was no exception – with a vaguely
defined section of garden in the immediate surrounds – mainly grass with shrubs
and flowers – and the remainder, about half the land, a wilderness of brambles,
bracken, nettles and overgrown trees. Hacking a way through this jungle to the
fence at the furthest end took some courage, requiring a scythe, saw and a
tough pair of shears to create a rough path, and it was at least 2 weeks before
I ventured forth to discover our boundaries. It was August, and a hot and wet
one – with plenty of mosquitos and flies and other midgies harbouring under the
dense foliage, as I set off determindly to assist with the clearing of the
land. Old swimming pool lining, thick black plastic sheets, all sorts of
rubbish along the bank with rotting piles of grass mowings and steaming compost
– it was quite a task. Blindly tugging away and intent upon the job, you can
imagine my shock (and horror!) when a large snake emerged from the depths… I’d
never encountered snakes before in any number, maybe the odd one on a walk in
the fields, but the snakes lurking in the undergrowth in our French garden were
sometimes alarmingly big and daunting. During our 6 plus years we saw a number
of snakes but not all of that initial size, some just slithered across our lawn
from one shady spot to another, and we also discovered several snakeskins
around the roof of the cottage, stuck in guttering or under the eaves. We fixed
some green netting just below the slates and this helped to deter any snakes
from entering the cottage, but we still had the occasional lodger in the attic
above our conservatory. You could usually detect their presence by a sort of
shuffling sound and also by a rather unpleasant smell!
Attached are photos of a smallish ‘serpent’, and a larger skin tastefully
draped around our daughter’s neck!
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