Way back when Evelyn was a youngster (honestly, we were all baby-faced), her first experience with snakes was… Awkward? Terrifying? Hilarious? Probably a little bit of all of it. As an animal lover, I have tried to teach our kids to love animals, or at the very least, have an interest in their existence. So, on our tiny hobby farm in Iowa, when a garter snake slithered through our yard, I naturally grabbed it and showed it to Evelyn and Claire. Claire was too interested in the cat door we’d recently installed, sure she could fit through it as easily as the cats. But Evelyn? She jumped and clapped her hands and asked if she could hold it. Why not? I thought. She’ll love it!
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| Pucker up, Evelyn! |
It probably goes without saying that Evelyn’s snake kiss left her wary of serpents. Not screaming and hyperventilating when they’d show up, but she’d definitely give them the side eye when we’d find one, and politely pass on holding it.
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| Spot the snake! |
Fast forward a decade and a half, and we’ve found in our relocation to Indiana, there are a lot more species of snakes, and aside from the midland water snakes, which live in our pond, we rarely see any snakes.
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| Jack loves me SO MUCH that he’ll traipse all around our property to find me so he can show me the snakes he’s caught. |
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| Aww! A baby! |
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| Evelyn’s new friend. |
