Diary of a Mad Woman Gone Sane

Living outside of civilization has its perks, however I have some not so fun neighbors. Each year I have to deal with snakes. Out here I only have one venomous snake, the prairie rattlesnake. They're very small. Reaching only about 2 feet at their largest. They blend in very well with the dirt, and are difficult to see. I have snake shot in my 22 long revolver, in the instance I have to keep me and my animals safe. I don't prefer killing them, and I would rather not, if I can avoid it. I have read that they are very aggressive, but that's not been my experience. They just want to be left alone. This year I have had a few interactions with them, as I do every year. I've had 2 dogs get bit in the last 6 years. Both survived and haven't had any problems, fortunately. Much of the time they will rattle to warn me that they are there. Since they are so small, their rattle isn't very loud. I generally try to have my phone playing music with me, and they usu...

You might be asking why is it part 2. Because I haven't told you about the first time we had rattlesnake games, yet. This happened last night, so I'm starting with this one first. I was in my hammock inside the bus watching TV. I have 7 dogs. And dogs bark, sometimes at nothing. This was a different bark and when I peeked outside I could tell that they were focused on something next to the fence. I grabbed my 22 long revolver and checked to make sure it was loaded. Threw on my slippers, not snakewear, but it's what I had nearby. The boys were barking wildly, like they were yelling at it. It was a little tiny rattlesnake, about the size of a small dessert plate curled up. I could hear it rattling at me. I shooed the boys away and emptied the chamber around the snake. My hands were shaking and I was scared. I fucking hate snakes! Unfortunately I didn't kill it. I went into the bus to reload and it was gone by the time I came back out. I checked my dogs, but I ...