A Cellar Concern.

     Imagine this ~ You walk down into the cellar to turn the water on that leads to the barn.  No big deal. Just minding your own business.  You're even whistling.  You turn the water on, turn around to walk back upstairs, happen to glance down, and there...on the floor...is a snake.  Yup.  You heard me.  A snake.  A giant, humongous...okay, so it was a baby...but it was a snake.  Great way to start a morning.
     Now you're wondering what I did with that big (yes, I know it was a baby, but still, a snake) thing.  Well, first I let out a pitiful yelp and then I'm sure there was a look of disgust on my face.  After that I sprang into action, emptying some stuff out of one of those plastic Sterlite containers.  I figured by the time I did that it would have disappeared into the bowels of the cellar, but nooooo, it was still there.  I inverted the container on the snake and then I really began hollering.  "Elllldessssst, snaaaaaaaake!"  "Somebody...anybody up there???  Snaaaaake!"  "Hellooooooo? There's a snake down here!"  Finally Eldest came down.  I don't think he believed me at first.  Well I sure showed him!  Literally!  I had no idea what kind it was, but I knew it was colorful and I also know that can be good or bad.  He looked at it through it's plastic prison and said he thought it was a Milk Snake, but he can't see the head, and he didn't want to find out it was a Copperhead the hard way, and by that I mean taking the container off and it getting away.  
     Shortly after Eldest joined me in the cellar, Young'un showed up.  Then Hon came down.  All we needed was Kid and it would have been a family affair.  Hon found something to slide under the snake so it was safe in the container and he could get a better look at it.  He said it's a Milk Snake, but I still had doubts.  For a baby it sure was mad, shaking it's little tail around the way it was.  Eldest showed me a picture of a Milk Snake and a Copperhead, pointing out the difference in their heads, so I had to finally admit they were right.  
     After the family rescued me from my ordeal I got to thinking.  It's a baby...in the cellar...  Hmmmmm, there have to be others.  Right?  I mean, snakes lay eggS, as in more than one, and this was just one.  That one thought had me running up the stairs without a glance back.  They could all fend for themselves, I was out of there!  I do believe I also told Eldest he can turn the water off and on in the cellar now because I'm not doing it.    I can't imagine how we ended up with a baby snake in the basement at this time of year.  I know they're down there when it's warmer because sadly I've found skins in some old canning jars and stuff, but now is just weird.  Hon said a female snake must have laid eggs in the basement and the heat from the boiler had them hatching out early.  Okay, but what am I supposed to do with it?  It's winter.  We still have a good 5 inches of snow on the ground.  It's not like I could have the kids take it outside.  
     Hon thought we could call the pet store and ask if they wanted it.  However, Eldest said we can't.  He said even though it was in the basement it's considered a wild animal and snakes caught in the wild can't be sold.  I had no idea.  Did you?  He went on-line and read to us what he was talking about, and clearly the pet shop angle was out.
     So, there you have it, folks.  I am now the caretaker of a baby Milk Snake that is sitting on my kitchen counter in a smaller Sterlite container until it warms up or I figure out what to do with it.  As much as snakes give me the heebie jeebies I just can't put the poor baby outside to freeze...and there is no way in the world I'm putting him back down in the cellar.  I'm still having issue wrapping my head around the fact that the rest of the family is down there somewhere.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon 

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