Thread:Oceanfront/@comment-33299993-20180202203037/@comment-34366989-20180606224421

I have a great plan to keep safe while I clean the Olienders. I have a kid, in his 20’s, who started working for me at 16. I helped him set up a gardenerimg business. He is so talented. I now have him making tile decks for me and outdoor gardens.

So, he brings his brother in law, and I let them do that. When they find rattlesnakes, they yell for me. Your not allowed to kill them, you have to relocate them. Last year we found lots of breeding pairs. You have to be VERY VERY careful and quick. My friend, who use to be my gardener, got bite a few years ago in the olienders. It cost her over $50,000 for medical treatment (anti venom). The entire neighborhood kicked in and help her pay her bill off, and I negotiated it down.

It is dangerous living the way I do, but I keep my eyes open when I am hiking the property, like today. Come the end of August and July, I probably won’t go out as much as it’s too hot and the snakes are out looking for cool places. That is the reason I have the place kept up monthly. It is a lot of work, and since I was sick I got behind and I am laying the price now. This is the first year in 8 that I didn’t stay up on the nests. We won’t be done until next week. Fun stuff, but luckily I really enjoy the kids that work for me.

Yes, my backyard is fenced nicely and only once the most gorgeous snake got in. My girlfriend from Boston was visiting and we were sitting in the yard. Then she started screaming. It was all colors of the rainbow. I think it was a king snake. Knock on wood, so far no rattler has come in, but I see them slivering by ( I have put up some metal fencing with designs so you can see outside my property. Some are gigantic and they always go for my Olienders.  I think it’s because I water them twice a day and it’s always cool under there.

If you need anything for this challenge let me know. Thank you so much for all the stuff Sarah sent me. I got a good collection!, Fran