Snake Season

This is both the best and the hardest time of the year for me.  It's the time to plant a garden, let the chickens out to roam, enjoy the spring weather out o the porch with family and friends....and...
SNAKES!!!
Usually, it's our grandchildren that find them in the yard, by the creek, or out in the back near the forest.  And 90% of them are not harmful.  But it's the 10% copperheads or water moccasins that scare the daylights out of me.  Honestly, they ALL scare the daylights out of me.
This one here, got named Joseph.  He was found and named by Preston.  Of course, Preston had to show Papa, then his sisters, and then his screaming mama and Aunt Chica.  I sat up on the porch, choosing to not have a front row seat to all the excitement.  But I got a real kick out of hearing all the documentary being expressed by my two daughters, who were yelling to their dad to stay away from the snake etc...
But this will most likely only be the beginning of our snake experiences this spring/summer.  I usually end up finding a few of them out by the chicken coop - by surprise, and THAT'S what scares me to death.
But this one, is the first of the season.
Welcome to our backyard Joseph!