A policeman, just east of here, died last year after a copperhead bit him on the ankle. They were having a gathering out in the yard, and he was beside the house. Died by the time they got to the hospital. I've been scared to go out in the yard ever since! When we were kids, my little sister was about to go down the back steps. My mother caught her before she stepped on the ground by the bottom step. There was a copperhead beside the step. Mama killed it with a hoe. She was scared for us to go outside, then. She said that she thought there was a nest of copperheads on that side of the house. I never saw anymore. I do not like snakes! or spiders! We had a new dishwasher put in and the plumber found a big, dead snake in the space under the old dishwasher. Still gives me chills. He said it was dried, and dead for a long time. Probably crawled in there while they were building our mobile home. That was about 10 years ago. We've got plenty of tall grass and vines from all the nice rain we have been having this year. But we are all scared to go outside and try to cut it down! The guy who used to do our yard died so we got a lawnmower to do it ourselves. It ran one time, and we can't get it started again. But we are all too chicken to go out there and try to mow or chop. Our "hunting dog", that was catching all kinds of critters, died, so we sure don't want to go out there! But, we are going to have to do it, maybe when school is out and we get up our nerve! 8>)) Do y'all have dewberries? Not blackberries, but dewberries. Those are so good! Love dewberry cobbler, jelly, berries with sugar and cream, ice cream, whipped cream, etc. There used to be people selling those in any container they could find-syrup buckets, milk jugs, baskets-whatever. People would come by houses, stores, schools, with berries to sell, and even stand by the road to sell them. I haven't seen anyone do that in years. Someone brought some to my principal after school a few years ago, and I bought some, too. Last time I have found them in any sizeable amount, for sale. So, I asked at the Farm Patch, sort of a fruit stand type of place here, but they buy from all over. I asked for dewberries, told them that I didn't want blackberries. I got home with my purchase and they were blackberries. There is a big difference in the taste. The owner of the place told me that he thought that, if they grow on the ground, they are dewberries, and, if they grow high up, like on a fence, they are blackberries. I told him, no, they are very different. We have quite a few vines outside, but, again, we are scared about snakes. Those who used to bring us berries, said that they always have a stick or a hoe to lift the vines off the ground, and don't stick their hand down in the leaves. Snakes love to hide in there. People make a lot of noise, too, to scare away the snakes. I just don't have confidence that snakes are more scared of me, than I am of them, as people keep telling me. I thought about clearing out around some of the vines, and try to train them to grow up off the ground, where they would be easier to pick. But, then, I might not have any dewberries, since they seem to grow along the ground and not up. Most of our berries are gone already, and we only got 4. I guess something ate them, or they got knocked off by the heavy rain. I like to use them to start a painting! They have a wonderful purple color that really stains everything-hands, clothes, cuptowels-anything. I thought that, if they stain, then they might produce a wonderful color on paper. Sometimes the seeds leave an interesting texture, as well. Cecelia . Not like western rattlers that warned you off. I remember one in > Princeton CA., we were out in the orchard walking along talking. He had > a hoe > in his hand as he had been hoeing weeds. All of a sudden, he put his arm > out > in front of me to stop me and without missing a step, swung that hoe down > and cut off the head of a rattler in our path. I never even saw the > thing. He > had no fear of any snake but hated rats. He said , as a kid, he got > trapped > in a corn crib by some. > Barbara Hammons Davis >

Were the swept yards with no grass in Cannon County to keep out the snakes? I have heard that this is an African custom that both black and white people in the South continued. (I can try to poke around for a reference). Anyway, my mother found that cats keep the snakes out of the house and (for the most part) the yard. When she doesn't have a cat, they'll come into the house, but when she does have a cat, they stay away. - Heather http://hblair.uchicago.edu/ On Mon, 14 May 2007, Cecelia wrote: > A policeman, just east of here, died last year after a copperhead bit him on > the ankle. They were having a gathering out in the yard, and he was beside > the house. Died by the time they got to the hospital. > I've been scared to go out in the yard ever since! > When we were kids, my little sister was about to go down the back steps. My > mother caught her before she stepped on the ground by the bottom step. > There was a copperhead beside the step. Mama killed it with a hoe. She was > scared for us to go outside, then. She said that she thought there was a > nest of copperheads on that side of the house. I never saw anymore. > I do not like snakes! or spiders! > We had a new dishwasher put in and the plumber found a big, dead snake in > the space under the old dishwasher. Still gives me chills. He said it was > dried, and dead for a long time. Probably crawled in there while they were > building our mobile home. That was about 10 years ago. > We've got plenty of tall grass and vines from all the nice rain we have been > having this year. But we are all scared to go outside and try to cut it > down! The guy who used to do our yard died so we got a lawnmower to do it > ourselves. It ran one time, and we can't get it started again. But we are > all too chicken to go out there and try to mow or chop. Our "hunting dog", > that was catching all kinds of critters, died, so we sure don't want to go > out there! But, we are going to have to do it, maybe when school is out and > we get up our nerve! 8>)) > > Do y'all have dewberries? Not blackberries, but dewberries. Those are so > good! Love dewberry cobbler, jelly, berries with sugar and cream, ice > cream, whipped cream, etc. > There used to be people selling those in any container they could find-syrup > buckets, milk jugs, baskets-whatever. People would come by houses, stores, > schools, with berries to sell, and even stand by the road to sell them. I > haven't seen anyone do that in years. Someone brought some to my principal > after school a few years ago, and I bought some, too. Last time I have > found them in any sizeable amount, for sale. > So, I asked at the Farm Patch, sort of a fruit stand type of place here, but > they buy from all over. I asked for dewberries, told them that I didn't > want blackberries. I got home with my purchase and they were blackberries. > There is a big difference in the taste. The owner of the place told me that > he thought that, if they grow on the ground, they are dewberries, and, if > they grow high up, like on a fence, they are blackberries. I told him, no, > they are very different. > We have quite a few vines outside, but, again, we are scared about snakes. > Those who used to bring us berries, said that they always have a stick or a > hoe to lift the vines off the ground, and don't stick their hand down in the > leaves. Snakes love to hide in there. People make a lot of noise, too, to > scare away the snakes. I just don't have confidence that snakes are more > scared of me, than I am of them, as people keep telling me. > I thought about clearing out around some of the vines, and try to train them > to grow up off the ground, where they would be easier to pick. But, then, I > might not have any dewberries, since they seem to grow along the ground and > not up. > Most of our berries are gone already, and we only got 4. I guess something > ate them, or they got knocked off by the heavy rain. > I like to use them to start a painting! They have a wonderful purple color > that really stains everything-hands, clothes, cuptowels-anything. I thought > that, if they stain, then they might produce a wonderful color on paper. > Sometimes the seeds leave an interesting texture, as well. > Cecelia > > > > . Not like western rattlers that warned you off. I remember one in >> Princeton CA., we were out in the orchard walking along talking. He had >> a hoe >> in his hand as he had been hoeing weeds. All of a sudden, he put his arm >> out >> in front of me to stop me and without missing a step, swung that hoe down >> and cut off the head of a rattler in our path. I never even saw the >> thing. He >> had no fear of any snake but hated rats. He said , as a kid, he got >> trapped >> in a corn crib by some. >> Barbara Hammons Davis >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNCANNON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >