Rattlesnakes and Tea

There's trouble on the home front. My typical morning and evening routine is to have my tea outside on the patio. I like it there, big beautiful trees, squirrels at play, blue birds and cardinals make Austin there home. The seldom seen owls and pesky deer are also no stranger here. Now, over the past month or so Ive gone out late at night or early morning to relax and have my tea only to realize that there is a rattlesnake just a few feet away from where I am sitting. This situation limits my ability to appreciate my tea. And after having realized the danger you are in, no matter what tea you are brewing it all tends to taste like crap. Having seen so many this year (and it's only May) I realized that there must be a nest of them somewhere close by. You know as summer progresses they are only going to get bigger and their venom more toxic. The evening news has broadcast (like they do every year) to be careful, use common sense kinda thing. On a normal year I might see one or two snakes, no big deal. But this year they are saying that for whatever reason the snakes are in abundance and evidently they are all headed for my back yard. One of the real problems with snakes around residential areas is that they can get into the foundation of your home and sometimes when they come out it's on the wrong side of the wall and they wind up inside your house.

 So I decided to take matters into my own hands. A Benjamin & Sheridan .22 caliber bolt action pellet gun should do the trick. I don't like the idea of killing anything but.........If it comes down to it, I,m gonna kill the little tea spoilers. And if I do say so myself, I am one hell of a shot with a rifle. I couldn't hit a house with a hand gun. On two different occasions Ive found two snakes at the same time on my porch. I know to stay away from them and they will usually slither off without any encouragement from me, but my dogs don't know any better. Just can't take that chance. So, if you hear any rat-a-tat's going off in the middle of the night, it's just me, don't worry about it, go back to sleep.

 My new Benjamin & Sheridan, bolt action, single shot, .22 caliber, all solid hard wood walnut stock, all solid metal parts. This is a very well made pellet gun, not one of those cheap plastic ones. Although Ive always wanted a Daisy Red Rider BB gun since I was a kid but my parents being sensible wouldn't let me have one. They said I,d shoot my eye out, now where have I heard that before?

 Twenty yards away, very first shot. I should be in the circus or something, one of those trick shooters.