RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
Sometimes things happen that you just don't expect -- like @LMichaels medicine issue.
Last night just after full dark, I stepped out into the small courtyard that ends at my grill. I mainly wanted to see how the two solar lanterns looked there newly hung outside the doorway since there is no other light in that area. The lanterns do cast a nice, soft, yellowish glow, but I didn't get to see the "look". They don't shed enough light for me to see the unexpected. A couple steps in I felt a small prick in my flip-flopped foot (middle toe) and seemed to stumble over something that shouldn't have been there. A little shocking to look back in the dim light and see a coiled copperhead waiting for another strike. Fortunately, I was then beyond it's reach, though as I slipped by to reach for a rake, it tried again. It was a good-sized copperhead, hard to tell length all coiled up, but clearly a fat, mature snake over 3 feet long. With the rake, I was able to pick it up at distance and fling it over the fence into the woods where it belongs.
Ah, yes, the foot. It was clear to start that somehow it had not actually embedded its fangs, but just sort of bounced off with just shallow, surface-skin deep marks. Did it hit the thong and deflect? Did tripping over it cause a miss? I don't know, but I didn't seem get a dose of venom. Doing a quick internet search, I confirmed that if I had gotten a venom injection it would quickly HURT and there was no pain. So I skipped the trip to the ER and finished watching the rather weak western I had in progress. This morning all is well, but I did get a closed up pic of my foot that you can see below. I circled the two fang nicks which are about 1/4" apart. The left side on didn't even have blood, but last night showed a bit of redness through the skin.
A new priority will be to get a real light out there as well as trying some home made snake deterrent (ammonia water and/or Epsom salt around the small yard. It's funny. We lived deep in the woods nearby for over 30 years, and while I've seen plenty of copperheads (some really up close and personal!), I've never had a striking encounter (though one of my dogs did). Living here in suburbia for six months, we've already had two copperhead "incidents" (the other was a young, probably mated pair looking for a den in our yard -- again, over the fence). For years, I backpacked alone all through the NC/TN/VA mountains and took the time to learn about venomous snakes. Copperheads are the least worrisome and are very non-aggressive. But you probably should avoid stepping on them...
Last night just after full dark, I stepped out into the small courtyard that ends at my grill. I mainly wanted to see how the two solar lanterns looked there newly hung outside the doorway since there is no other light in that area. The lanterns do cast a nice, soft, yellowish glow, but I didn't get to see the "look". They don't shed enough light for me to see the unexpected. A couple steps in I felt a small prick in my flip-flopped foot (middle toe) and seemed to stumble over something that shouldn't have been there. A little shocking to look back in the dim light and see a coiled copperhead waiting for another strike. Fortunately, I was then beyond it's reach, though as I slipped by to reach for a rake, it tried again. It was a good-sized copperhead, hard to tell length all coiled up, but clearly a fat, mature snake over 3 feet long. With the rake, I was able to pick it up at distance and fling it over the fence into the woods where it belongs.
Ah, yes, the foot. It was clear to start that somehow it had not actually embedded its fangs, but just sort of bounced off with just shallow, surface-skin deep marks. Did it hit the thong and deflect? Did tripping over it cause a miss? I don't know, but I didn't seem get a dose of venom. Doing a quick internet search, I confirmed that if I had gotten a venom injection it would quickly HURT and there was no pain. So I skipped the trip to the ER and finished watching the rather weak western I had in progress. This morning all is well, but I did get a closed up pic of my foot that you can see below. I circled the two fang nicks which are about 1/4" apart. The left side on didn't even have blood, but last night showed a bit of redness through the skin.
A new priority will be to get a real light out there as well as trying some home made snake deterrent (ammonia water and/or Epsom salt around the small yard. It's funny. We lived deep in the woods nearby for over 30 years, and while I've seen plenty of copperheads (some really up close and personal!), I've never had a striking encounter (though one of my dogs did). Living here in suburbia for six months, we've already had two copperhead "incidents" (the other was a young, probably mated pair looking for a den in our yard -- again, over the fence). For years, I backpacked alone all through the NC/TN/VA mountains and took the time to learn about venomous snakes. Copperheads are the least worrisome and are very non-aggressive. But you probably should avoid stepping on them...
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