Miss Elizabeth

Miss Elizabeth's face off with Lucifer? It was summer time around these parts and with the heat brings different problems. Animals left by their owners without food or water, left without shelter and always a real killer, left locked in vehicle in direct sunlight commonly known as a hot car! Well, today was something special when I met Miss Elizabeth, a new resident to our county now living in Atherton by way of Savannah, Georgia. According to dispatch Miss Elizabeth discovered what she referred to as "That old Serpent" (another name for the Devil, in this case a rattlesnake) while walking the grounds on her rolling estate. After entering the property through two magnificent black rod iron gates I met Miss Elizabeth and her husband in front of what only could be described as a southern mansion.  Miss Elizabeth turned to me and said in a deep southern draw , " this would never occur in Sandy Springs or Skidaway Island in the beautiful state of Georgia. "Now my pretty peach blossom", replied her husband, it's just a little old snake". Miss Elizabeth looked directly at me, her fiery green eye's peering out from under her light blue sun bonnet, " you'll find that Son of Perdition over there", pointing toward a neatly manicured lawn next to a grove of white oak trees. Grabbing my snake stick and brown safeway shopping bag I headed in that direction. " Did you come here to shop"? Miss Elizabeth called out, "Mother warned me California was a snake pit, Lord knows she was right"! Well, I acted as though I didn't hear her comments no matter how right or wrong she was and walked carefully as I neared the area in question. Having handled numerous rattlesnakes they usually but not always rattled when approached but so far all I could hear was Miss Elizabeth yelling out, " Prince of Tyrus?" (another name for he devil, I looked it up) "return to Hell where you  belong". Suddenly near a pile of neatly stacked fire wood  I located this  demon of darkness with a interesting twist. The snake was in the middle of breakfast having found a very large and now deceased wood rat. " Found him" I called out, " however, he's in the middle of devouring a rat". "A rat", screamed out Miss Elizabeth, " dear Lord, Lucifer's not alone". This apparently was all Miss Elizabeth could endure with the entrance to hell right in her backyard she started to wobble throwing her head back while grabbing both her bosoms she fell into the awaiting arms of her husband.  Poking two small holes in the top of my bag I laid it on the ground and gently picked up the snake who released his meal and placed him in the bag. I could still hear Miss Elizabeth moaning as her husband waved her blue sun bonnet over her face. Waste not Want not I thought to myself so I put my little snakes breakfast in the bag with him and hooking the two small hole's with my snake stick I carried the bag at arms length and secured it inside my vehicle. Miss Elizabeth was now sitting on the front lawn still visibly shaken but had recovered enough to not  require any medical assistance. She reached up to me and said, " bless you dear man, you have ridden this household of something truly evil". I didn't have time to educate Miss Elizabeth about the true nature of rattlesnakes and besides I was getting hungry myself. I drove to a isolated area just off Canada Rd. in Belmont right near the watershed area and found the perfect place to release my wayward reptile. As I laid the bag down next to some shaded bush out slid a very well fed snake with just the tip of the wood rats tail remaining. It appeared the snake now with a rather large bulge in it's middle curled up under the shade flickering it's tongue as if to say breakfast was over and it was time for a nap.