Snake in our house... so grab the blower?!

(ABOVE: A huge rat snake climbs the gutter of our house. Where is Mr. Snake going?! )

....

It's not in my heart to kill a snake, but I also don't care for one to slither near our house!

I was quite surprised this past Sunday to find a huge snake sunning itself on the back porch. Snakes enjoy warmer weather, and the late afternoon sunshine provided cozy warmth-- up against our door! The dogs immediately spotted the creature and barked like crazy. Mr. Snake retreated and coiled behind the grill. I quickly got the dogs inside then wondered what to do next!

(BELOW: Josie and my leg. Our Westies alerted us of the snake in the backyard.)




After the dogs disappeared inside, Mr. Snake didn't waste time making a getaway. He quickly uncoiled from behind the barbecue grill and slithered along the side of the house.

(BELOW: The snake retreats behind the grill. Time to put on my snake catching boots!)



The snake unraveled to more than 3 feet long! I thought my new friend was leaving the yard when he changed directions and went straight up the house!




Mr. Snake curled around the rain gutter and slithered toward the roof. He found a small crack in the foundation, poked his head in and entered the house. The snake got in!!! Mr. Snake squeezed in between the top of the bricks and the roof. Wifey wasn't pleased!

(BELOW: The snake slithers up the rain gutter and disappeared into the house. A thin crack exists between bricks and roof. Apparently the small crack is big enough for a snake to live!)


The snake couldn't go anywhere from there as he trapped himself between the drywall and bricks. Unless he burrowed through drywall and wood he was trapped and couldn't get into the bedrooms. But we still wanted him gone!

(BELOW: John used a hair drier! He tried heating up the snake's hidey hole to force him out.)

Not knowing what to do next, Wifey called our friend John the snake expert. John rushed over with his snake catching tools. He tried several methods to get the the critter out, but Mr. Snake was too far back. We called it a night. Wifey didn't sleep to well that night!

(BELOW: Sure, why not try a leaf blower too! Not sure how to react if the snake blew out of the house...)



The next day temperatures warmed into the upper 70s. I frequently checked the backyard, but I couldn't find any signs of the snake. Maybe and hopefully he slithered away. Either way I sealed the crack in the bricks. The snake will never get back inside-- or he's trapped inside the bricks forever!

(BELOW: I sealed the crack above the bricks. If we smell dead snake soon then we know where he is...)

Oops.... Bad Parking

(ABOVE: someone parked their Chevy in a bad spot. The tire is sitting on cables from a Channel 2 news truck.)

Long and weird hours are the norm working in TV. And sometimes our work days get longer due to the unexpected. On Election Day, Channel 2 photographer John Guthery parked the news truck as normal, and he stretched cables across the parking lot from the truck to the TV camera for a live shot.




Someone parked their SUV on the cables! John had to remain late after the live shot until the owner showed up to drive away. (I bet that was a fun chat!) You can't exactly leave a hundred thousand dollar live truck behind or cut the cables. John politely waited it out.

Catching up... April 21, 2010 Storm Chase

(ABOVE: We didn't run into any memorable storms on 4/21/2010, but a pheasant ran into us.)


I haven't posted on flickingerweather.com as much since I've been using Facebook , so I'm getting caught up writing up chase days.

Here are a few pics from April 21, 2010. The storms which formed that day developed away from our chase target, so a poor pheasant became the most memorable part of the trip.

While driving highway speeds, the bird flew across the road and directly into the front of our vehicle. :(

http://www.flickingerweather.com/042110.html

Forecast: Brown Grass

(ABOVE: My view walking through Ray Harrell park. Our Fall leaves aren't quite as vivid this year due to the prolonged dry weather.)


Your backyard usually turns brown this time of year as the daylight gradually disappears. But the lack of rain isn't helping. Some of our viewers are telling us of big cracks in their yards!

Our yearly rainfall is 15-25% below average across eastern Oklahoma. This Fall has been especially dry. Widespread heavy rain is not expected anytime soon.

The long range outlook appears drier than norm for the rest of the Fall.

(BELOW: This is a drought map. The soil moisture is quite low, especially in southeastern OK. Each windy, low humidity day will bring the entire state a high fire danger. )

(BELOW: Precipitation outlook for Fall through early Winter. More dry weather is expected from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast.)