Does the thought of a snake make you want to scream? Have you ever seen one outside a zoo environment? Do you know they don't all live in glass aquariums? Just kidding on the last one.

Living in the country can bring you into contact with more animals than you might imagine.

I grew up in Southern Maryland near a farm from where the pigs occasionally got free and ran through the neighborhood - so I wasn't too worried when I purchased land in the country. There have still been a few meetings even I was not expecting. I've come to realize that a sense of humor is necessary for some episodes of "real" country living...

My property has a 4 acre lake near the middle of the 7 acres total. Who knew this meant I would have my first meeting with otters? I guess, now that it has all happened, that I should have guessed some might come to visit a lake well-stocked with fish. They were first identified as what appeared to be something taking a bath in the far end of the lake. Once my 18-inch catfish started appearing on the banks of the lake with half their heads eaten away - I had all the info I needed to identify the perpetrators.

My second most startling meeting was with the neighbors bulls. I figured, since there was a fenced, 15-acre pasture next to me that contained said bulls, I was not to have much to do with them. Wrong.

Bulls are very large, very strong animals weighing somewhere over 1500 pounds. The news to me was that when they spied some greenery on my side of the fence they wanted, they would band together and make the necessary happen. Down went the fence and over came the bulls - 6 of them. I was unaware of these goings-on outside my house until I happened to walk past a ground-level window and noticed a large head filling the view.

End of story, I was able to contact my neighbor and he and I were able to gradually entice the bulls back towards the fenceline and back to the pasture. Fortunately this was done without much damage to my yard or landscaping or my Mini Cooper.

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Snakes - the long and the short of it...

Snakes continue to confound me although I've probably seen a dozen or more, up closer than expected, over the last 6 years.

First, they are a LOT faster than most people realize. They also don't slither along in a straight line. They sway from side to side and change direction faster than you can blink. If a snake ever decided to chase you, you will lose the race so don't bother trying. Walk away and give them time to leave the scene and most often, they will.

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And then there was this snake. He was apparently trying to convince any visiting finches that he is merely part of the wire that is supporting their feeder. He was successful the summer prior when he managed to capture and encircle a goldfinch. I was able to get him to release it, but he did return and try again.

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The problem between snakes and people I have decided, is that snakes have no voice and they have no arms - they are just not good communicators. They are also laying on the ground most of the time. So, we unsuspecting humans are walking along a garden path, minding our own business but the snake is laying in the leaves to the side of the path and can't say, "Hey watch out, I'm sunning myself here." Nor can they wave their arms to warn us off since they have no arms.

So, humans walk closer and closer and the snake, in a final attempt, either moves across the path to make it's presence known, or, it rears up 4 or 5 inches and does a fake cobra dance to let you know where it is. This is the normal meeting between most humans and snakes in the country. Every once and awhile the snake does not make itself known and a human is bitten. This usually becomes a major news story somewhere - ignoring the fact that there are, most likely, hundreds of times a human walks past a snake and never knows it is there.

Any visit or move to the country should include a trip to the local library to find out what type of snakes reside in your area. Copperheads and black snakes are predominant in my area and I've seen two copperheads so far compared to about a dozen black snakes. More good info for my future in the wild...

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Agriculture areas and farm animals...

My neighbors - the owners of the bulls - also have chickens, cows, goats, a horse, dogs and they used to have a very large pig. They also used to have a very noisy donkey whose vocals mimicked some form of apparent murder in progress. A little weird until I figured out "who" was making those sounds.

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Wysong Horse Supplements

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When I bought my property I noticed the large pasture next door and knew that this meant some form of animal would be near my property line at any given point. Sometimes it is two dozen cows, or a half dozen bulls...today it is a old, friendly and spoiled rotten by me - horse. This is part of living in the country and you will either like it as I do or it will be unbearable for you. But, "country" living often means agricultural lifestyles and believe me, people who may rely on these animals for some or all of their livelihood, take their care and protection very seriously.

Rest in peace Paint. December 21, 2009.

I haven't even mentioned the extra flies that sometimes accompany the farm animals. I also haven't mentioned ticks or chiggers that thrive in wooded and/or country pasture environments. If you plant a garden of flowers you will attract lots of hummingbirds...but you will also attract bees. Plant vegetables, you'll be getting the great benefits of truly organic food, but you may have to fight for some of it with rabbits or deer.

Awareness of your tolerance level for potential "adventures with wildlife" will help you make the right decision about a potential move to the country. Maybe for you, a vacation to a country resort would be a better fit?

The book, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, explains the threat to this way of life and why it needs to be preserved.

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