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I have often heard the expressions "when Hell freezes over," and "when pigs fly." We may not live in Hell, but it’s certainly been hot as Hell for the past few days. But wouldn’t you know it that last Saturday morning - although we didn’t have a freeze – our low was a cool 55 degrees! That just doesn’t happen that often in August, now does it? It was just novel to hear everyone talking about the ‘cold’ front that morning. Even 60 degrees, while the calendar still says AUGUST, is unheard of. It happened though, and I am wondering if any of the ‘old timers’ will say it is record setting? First liar didn’t stand a chance on who had the coldest temperature, because out here on the river we are usually a few degrees cooler.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were able to start September off with an early fall? Think of how much fun it’d be to not only play football, but to watch football as well.

I wore my last pastel colored shirts with white pants today. I wonder what Grandmother would think if she thought I was wearing white after Labor Day?

Thinking of Grandmother made me remember something about my car wreck. When I was in the wreck, and they had me strapped to a backboard, my sandal fell off. In the midst of all the chaos – I just couldn’t but wonder if my feet were clean.

Since I had just traveled on a plane, I was of course clean when I started out on my trip – but when my shoe fell off, my Grandmother’s admonitions of always having "clean feet" came flooding into my mind. I started hollering for Jenni to get my shoe put back on… I just wanted to be on the safe side of that one. Actually, both of my Grandmother’s admonitions came flooding back to me in the car wreck. "Make sure to wear your best underwear when you travel and be sure your feet are clean." You know – she just swore by the both of them! Primarily, her reasoning was because if you had an accident and landed in the hospital, you needed to be at your best. But, my thought was always – "who cares in the hospital?"

The other oddities I have noticed here deal with the Texas Black Snakes that have apparently taken up residence just outside of our lawn fence and IN OUR TREES.

Over the 26 years we’ve been living in this house, we have noticed a snake skin hanging from a particular tree at least 2 or 3 times. However, this year we have had at least 3 sighting in the ‘snake tree’ SINCE SPRING. This is kind of odd and, to be honest, a bit scary! Since this has happened I have taken to really paying attention to anything waving in the oak trees just outside of our yard.

Recently, I was taking in some of the nice cooler, afternoon, weather when I noticed something waving just ethereally in a tree other than the ‘snake tree.’ When I got closer to investigate, wouldn’t you know it - by golly – that there was the biggest, fattest, snake skin of them all! Now this just gets creepier, because yesterday as my book club ladies were leaving, I wanted them to see huge snake skin and one and one of them looked at me and said, "Well, I see that one – but LOOK! There are 2 more in a different tree!"

The longest one was a good six or seven feet long. Boy, I’ll tell you what – such a sight sure did have these ladies scampering to their cars!

When I got Pat, he and I went out to investigate those tree. Sure enough! Our total is now at 6 snake skins since spring. This is beginning to be a rather troubling number of snake skins discovered within 50 feet of my house!

I went online and read all I ever wanted to know about Texas Rat Snakes. One thing I hadn’t even bothered to worry about was this little fun fact. "If you have any tree limbs touching the roof of your house you might need to cut them down… these tree living snakes can slither into your roof vents and down the air conditioning vents… and possibly take up living right under your bed."

Don’t laugh! We’ve had at least one snake that we know of for sure, in our guest room right under my computer desk!

The thing that really got my attention when reading about the Texas Black Snake was a story about one man had been out investigating a hanging skin from his tree, when a black snake (minus its most recent shed) plopped down within feet of him on the ground!

Now if that happened to me, the next day you would be read the following headline: "Storyteller Scared To Death By Falling Texas Rat Snake, Services Pending at Crofts."

When I told my husband about what I had just read online regarding the Texas Black Rat Snake, he casually asked me "What do they them in Louisiana?" "I guess Cajun Rat Snakes, everything can’t be Texas bred, can it?" I replied.

Apparently these black rat snakes are not aggressive and are definitely non poisonous – but of course they WILL bite if they have to. So I wouldn’t go messing with them, and I am hoping that they only come down to feed at night – while I am safely tucked away in my bed.

Then again, what if they decide to get on my roof… and then in the attic… and then… and then… and then?

Hmmm. I may not sleep well again until winter. However, with last Saturday’s cool 55 degree weather – I can only think that the snakes have gone to den up and not come back.

I can only hope!