(First off, to answer the question in the title, I don’t think anyone EVER really needs reality TV, but especially not when you live on a homestead. ;))
Each week, I generally try to post clever DIY tips, tasty recipes, or tips for farm life. But today, I’m deviating ever-so-slightly from my usual content.
I’ve had several requests to write up a “day in my life” style of post. and although this past Saturday was far from a regular day, I think you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.
Saturday started out as a fairly typical day here on the homestead. Hubby was loading up and preparing to go to a tractor pull with the antique tractor he just got running again. (It’s an International Super WD-9, in case there are any tractor buffs reading this…)
(And yes, I had to go ask him that just now…)
Anyway, the morning progressed fairly smoothly. Well, I guess our one escape-artist heifer did get out and run down the road, but that’s hardly remarkable since it has been happening somewhat frequently right now.
The Prairie Kids and I loaded up and headed into town to meet with a friend to chat about essential oils and grab a few groceries (and of course, I had to hit the thrift store while I was there…)
While in town, I heard that our area was under a tornado watch, which is pretty normal for this time of year. We arrived home just in time for nap time, so I put the kiddos to bed and decided it would be the perfect time to take my camera equipment out to the barn and shoot a video for an upcoming post with my milk cow.
The skies were dark and ominous looking, but the storms were a ways off, so I wasn’t immediately concerned. That’s one thing I love about Wyoming- you can see the sky for miles and miles.
After 2356 video takes and getting whacked in the face approximately 27 times while trying to demonstrate my milking routine for the video, I decided to call it quits and head back inside.
Upon entering my house, I could hear discussion happening on the fire radio (hubby is a member of the volunteer fire department, so the radio is always on.) A somewhat ominous cloud with rotation had been spotted somewhere in our area, but I kept missing the exact location.
I ran outside to look. Nope, no swirling clouds that I could see, so I headed back inside.
My phone rang- it was hubby. Apparently, there WAS a different tornado on the ground near the town where the tractor pull was being held (about 30 miles away from us). The tornado sirens were going off, and he and his buddies left the event to take cover from the massive hail.
Lovely.
I was still listening to the fire radio, but couldn’t figure out where the funnel cloud was in our area. Miraculously, the kids were still asleep, so I decided it would be the perfect time to make a batch of homemade chapstick. Rational thinking, right?
(Hey, I had been out of chapstick for several days… It’s dry here in ol’ Wyoming. My lips were desperate.)
I raced down the stairs into the basement to grab my chapstick supplies. With my hands full of cocoa butter, coconut oil, and beeswax pellets, I sprinted up the stairs. My eyes caught a glimpse of a yellow and brown striped object smooshed up against the side of the stairwell.
I reached the top of the stairs. The wheels in my brain started to turn slowly…
Yellow and brown stripes.
Usually the dust bunnies on the stairs aren’t that color.
Yellow and brown… Those are snake colors.
Snake.
Stairs.
House.
THERE WAS A SNAKE IN MY HOUSE!
I peered back down the stairs to figure out exactly what kind of reptile I had almost stepped on. Slender head, smooth tail.
It was a bull snake– not one of the poisonous rattlers that are common in our area. Whew! Bull snakes are better than rattlers. At least I had that going for me… right?
Obviously, I had to catch it, and fast. I sure didn’t want him slithering back down the stairs and hiding in the basement for future discovery. I dumped my chapstick stuff on the table, but then the radio started squawking again…
“Storm chasers everywhere….. rotation… getting nasty!”
That was all I could catch before the static took over. Where the heck was that cloud?
Snake. There was still a snake in my house. I raced outside to grab a bucket and a net and tried to make it back inside as fast as possible so I wouldn’t miss any vital information on the radio.
I put on my tall mud boots (aka- my “snake catching boots”- This wasn’t a time for flip-flops…) and leather fencing gloves… Just in case.
Thankfully, Mr. Snake allowed himself to be apprehended without incident. (And thankfully, it was just a little guy… Not a full-grown adult.)
I stuck the bucket outside in the shop and put a net over the top. I wanted to show him to Prairie Girl when she woke up. Snake bites are a very real concern on our homestead, and we talk to her regularly about snakes and what she should do if she ever sees one. Even though bull snakes aren’t poisonous, they look very similar to rattlers. So, I wanted her to see one up close so she knows what they look like.
Now I could finally focus on my chapstick and the fire radio. I was finally able to catch the full story on the radio, and the cloud was about 15 miles away from us. It dissipated shortly after and never formed a full tornado. Whew.
The power went out for a little while, but just as I was starting to think about eating a cold supper, it came back on– which was fine by me– I had more than enough adventure for one day.
So, the moral of the story is….
Well, I guess there really isn’t a moral today. I just wanted to bring you along for the ride on one of the crazy days of my life. Some days would make for some pretty good reality TV. 😉
And yes, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I secretly thrive on the adventure that comes with living where we do. It sure beats getting your dose of excitement from a movie theater, don’t ya think?
I still wouldn’t trade my crazy life with anybody, snakes, tornadoes, and all.
P.S. Just so you know, I’m not making light of the serious nature of tornadoes. Our storms are nowhere near as devastating or severe as the ones that hit states like Oklahoma or Kansas. If I had thought we were in immediate danger, we would have been in the basement. (With the snake.)
P.S.S. We still aren’t sure how the snake got inside… But since we live in an old farmhouse, the basement has a lot of nooks and crannies. We are 99% positive he slithered in through there. I have a feeling there is probably more, so I’m watching carefully every time I go downstairs to grab a jar of applesauce or beans.
P.S.S.S I’m sure some of you are wondering what happened to the snake in question. Well, that’s another story in itself… When I took Prairie Girl out to the shop to show her the bucket later that day, it was empty. Yes, he was loose in the shop. (Hubby was oh-so thrilled…) But just when I started seeing visions of having a resident shop-snake that hung from the rafters, we were able to capture him again on Sunday. We turned him loose in the pasture, farrrrrr away from the house.
That’s nice of you to turn him loose! I think I would have grabbed the gun and tried to shoot him… in the house… I probably would have got him, but also put quite a few holes in the stairs as well. 🙂 (and yes, I know snakes serve a purpose… I still hate them). You are one brave woman!
Ha, yes! Well, I have shot Rattlers in the past! However, the rumor is that bull snakes deter rattlers, so I try to let them live… 😉
What a fun day!!! I recently subscribed to your blog…we are working on setting up our own little homestead–an Urban Homestead. We live in Houston, TX (well in the burbs outside of the city). We just adopted two layers (who are so sweet and give us two eggs every day). Looking forward to acquiring a little land–more chickens–and possibly a goat. Thanks for such a fun blog!!! I look forward to your posts. I’m going to scour your blog for the chapstick how to!!!! Have (another) great day!!!
Sounds like you have a great urban homestead goin’ on Tonja! I don’t have the chapstick recipe on here yet, but I do 1 T. beeswax pellets, 1 T. coconut oil, and 1 T. shea butter with 3-4 drops of essential oil.
You are braver than me, I would of high tailed it up the stairs and never went back down. I am terrified of snakes and that is one of my biggest fears to have one in my house and that is another reason I don’t like old basements either ( we have one). We are getting ready to move to west central North Dakota and I already looked up what poisonous snakes are in that area because my kids practically live outside. The only one is the prairie rattler which it said could possibly be in that area, the dogs will definitely be going everywhere with the kids!! I love your site and visit it daily.
Yes, I would imagine that you’d have rattlers like we do in ND. I depend on our dogs a lot- they’ve definitely alerted me in the past!
Kudos to you, sister. Snakes and bats are two things I can’t deal with.
Oh bats… they totally creep me out!
Love this post!! I have had very similar days (no tornadoes but pretty torrential weather nonetheless) and it certainly keeps us entertained. We have a Garter Snake living in our shed and my son loves to look for him every day. For the most part, snakes don’t bother me. But when I turn over a bale of hay only to find a 3foot slithery mass it is a completely different story lol. Kudos for keeping your cool and setting him free…far far away from the house!
Oh yeah… I don’t enjoy those hay bale surprises either… I’ve learned to always flip the bale towards me, so it serves as a barrier– just in case!
Like you, I realize that snakes serve a very real and necessary function and I would never kill a non-poisonous one. I’m not a girlie-girl who’s afraid of bugs and snakes, but I certainly would have thought twice about how to catch a snake in the house. (note to self: We need to obtain a net “just in case”! LOL) I enjoyed reading about your day.
~Taylor-Made Ranch~
Wolfe City, Texas
YES! We’ve used that net a ton- for snake catching, and capturing wild chickens, too. 🙂
Loved it!! I lived in the country for years in a 150yr. old farmhouse with a very porous stone basement. Well, we had copperheads and rattlers plus assorted non-poisonous snakes. A huge black snake lived in our basement on the top shelf of canning wall. needless to say we didn’t have many mice or rats there, but it sure started your heart every time we reached for a jar. I was the eldest, therefore, “the bravest” and official remover of reptiles. The poison ones got the hoe which we kept in the house for that purpose, the others I got very good at removing. LOL! It was just what we had to do owning a farm. Not to much bothers me. I think it was great life experience. My grandchildren just listen open-mouthed. Strange but true! You tell the stories of your life so very well.
Ack! I don’t know what would be worse– KNOWING that the snake was there, or being surprised! 🙂
Ha! What a day. Living in the country is sure better than any show on TV. I think the most important thing in your story was the fact that both of your kids where napping at the same time 😉 I consider that another art of homesteading!
Ha! yes, that little luxury happens some days, but definitely not all! 😉
Oooo! I would be on the phone with my husband in .002 seconds if I found a snake in our house. I don’t mind (nice) snakes outside …but inside? That’s a whole different ball game–I’ve got some serious toughening up to do!
YIKES!!!!!! No way could I have caught that thing. I am horrified of any snake.
We have some friends who live in Costa Rica and have chickens and rabbits. Rabbits are often raised for food down there. One day they woke up to their horror of finding a boa constrictor with a noticeable lump in it, curled up in their rabbit hutch. The boa had gotten in through a hole in the hutch but now that it had eaten one of the rabbits and was sporting a large bump, it couldn’t get out. Fortunately, once a boa has eaten it won’t need to eat for weeks or months after a kill, depending on the size of their meal so while the other rabbits were all cowering in fear in the opposite corner of the hutch, they weren’t in any immediate danger. All their neighbors came from around to help get it out of the hutch and a discussion began over what to do with it. The neighbors all thought they should kill it and eat it, but my friend wanted to release it into the jungle again because they keep the rat population down. Who won? Well, let’s just say that my friend got a taste of what barbequed boa tastes like.
Oh my goodness! I am very thankful we don’t have boas around here! I’ve heard one-too-many jungle missionary stories involving giant snakes like that!
Great Day! I am looking forward to your post about milking your cow. We are considering buying our friends jersey milker. I just love them. How old are your children and do you homeschool?
I have a 3 year old and a 7 month old. I don’t homeschool yet, but I will be! (I was homeschooled K-12 myself.)
I love reading your story. I lived in old house when I was married to my first husband. I had a bull snake in my bathroom on a plastic shelf. When it vibrated it sounded just like a rattler. Scared me to death. I live in Missouri and we have same tornados and snakes.
Yes! Those bull snakes can act just like a rattler when they are mad!
I was just thinking, you need to raise some broilers – oh yeah, now there’s some fun. Let’s just say they aren’t smart enough to deserve a long life. My husband and I have spent more nights at 2 am wet or hailed on trying to get 143 broiler chickens into their shed – I really think you should raise broilers….just so we can all hear the stories!!!!
Lol Wendy! This made me laugh– yes, I bet that would give me some good fodder for writing!
I love your site and subscribe to it. The young part of me that is hidden in here somewhere (I’m 71), would love to live my life you do in a real homestead. My little homestead is one square acre only 7 minutes from town. I’m not afraid of many critters so that wouldn’t be a problem. (Well, I don’t really like big hairy spiders in the house). My two horses have to be boarded but I have a big dog 3 cats and 5 hens. I try to feel like this is a real little farm anyway! Having a milk cow is a real commitment. I would like to have a couple little goats though! Love your writings.
It sounds as though you have a lovely little homestead Shirley! I’m a horse gal too, by the way. 🙂
That is a great post! Really enjoyable reading. And I appreciate the tip about how to catch a snake: bucket and net. Now, if I ever need the information, I’ll hopefully remember it.
YES! Buckets and nets! 🙂
I really enjoyed this post. You painted such a vivid picture of your day. I live in a small seaside town on the south coast of England which is about as far removed from the life you lead as you could get—which of course makes reading about your experiences all the more enjoyable. Snakes and tornadoes are definitely not a part of everyday life in England.!!
Finally I also find all your information about natural health and essential oils incredibly useful.
I’m so glad to have you as a reader Ruth– thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts! 🙂
Haha – I think you might be the sister I never had! Never a dull moment in the country for sure. Hubby found a milk snake in our new basement – we think he got in when they were replacing the concrete on the front porch (which acts as a ceiling to the cold storage area). Thankfully have found no more but when I was little we had a “Michigan” basement and had snakes down there – I remember being about 4 sitting on top of the dryer while mom folded clothes and freaking out at the snake over my head. 🙂
Eeeek! 4 sitting on the dryer?! Now that would have been a little too much for me, ha!
Hi Jill,
Thanks for the intriguing adventure you shared with us. I can relate to both experiences. My mother was at home and one of her friends came to see her. It’ was late in the afternoon and I just got home from work. As I open the doors and stepped in I felt something hit my head, then my shoulder, my right arm and then the floor. Looking down there was a snake coiled on the floor. The first thing I thought was mother’s friend was playing a joke on me. That was until I saw it move its head and flick its tongue out. I recognized it as a Copper Head snake. I told mother to get her feet off the floor and watch it while I get a rake off the carport. Needless to say he is no longer with us. By the way I was not bitten but not for his lack of trying. He left a big spot of poison on my forearm, I did not know that for several hours later. While watching TV my arm started to ache, I check it a again for a bite wound or cut where he had hit me, but there were none, but there was a big dried spot that looked like dried glue. I washed it off and the pain went away. Praise God!
Living in Alabama we have more than our fair share of tornado, My home has been hit four times in the last 40 yrs, The last one was April 27 2011, I lost several trees but no damage to my home nor my neighbor’s home, but that cannot be said for the other homes in our neighborhood. It took over a week to get the power back on. But I suffered a loss that cannot be replaced nor rebuilt, I lost my beloved, She had gotten off from work and was going to check on her father. For some reason she stops by a little Church and there she died, the last tornado of the day hit the church and all the debris hit her car. I have made it through with the Love and Grace of God. And knowing I will see her again. I thank God for sustaining me.
The Bounty of our Heavenly Father fill your life.
Oh Randall, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your wife- how devastating. I am thankful that you have a personal relationship with God and that He continues to sustain you. I am also honored to have you as a reader here on the blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.
And what a story about that Copperhead, yikes! I had no idea that the poison could cause damage while sitting on top of the skin, but it makes sense, ick!
Thank you for sharing your days with us…I needed your humor today. Sorry for any trouble you might be having, but it sure makes my day in that knowing I’m not alone. Keep up your wonderful posts. You help me more than you will ever know. Thanks again and God Bless.
Aw… I’m so honored to have you as a part of the Prairie Homestead community Ellen!
Wow, tornadoes and the snake…you are one tough little cookie! What kind of radio do you have? I have been thinking of buying one and seeing how to get tapped in around here. Living in an RV has lost its romance for me.
It’s just the emergency radio that is issued by the fire department, but it’s really nice to have… I keep it very close during fire/tornado season! If we didn’t have it, I would definitely invest in a weather radio or something along those lines.
Yikes! I don’t think I could be as brave as you about the snake. Lucky for me my son doesn’t mind those things. I have a friend who shot a rattlesnake with a shotgun and blew a hole in the side of her house.
Oh wow! Well, I did shoot a rattler right next to our shop last year, and it was pretty much a miracle that I didn’t end up shooting the wall, ha!
Jill, I love this! I can’t wait to see what my day-to-day is going to be like when we are homesteading in our Black Hills, SD home. Mountain lions, hail storms, bull horn sheep, wild turkeys, brush fires….bring it on!
Oh yes- I’m betting you’ll have some good stories too Dana! 🙂
Loved this post! Life sure does have a way of keeping us on our toes 😉
Gosh! That was quite a day! 🙂 We live in a 5th wheel, so life is a bit different but interesting. Sure is interesting to read about your days…
Oh my goodness, Jill! I always love reading your email updates and I just had to pop over this time to leave a comment. I can’t believe this – a snake and a tornado! Looks like you tackled them with grace as usual, although you may be seeing that Mr. Snake again – hopefully not – LOL! So glad the tornado turned out to be nothing of concern. Lots of love to you, sweet friend, Kelly
Well, I didn’t look very graceful when I was running around like a headless chicken, but it definitely got my heart rate up for the day, ha! 🙂
You live an interesting life, gal!!! Years ago on the farm if my girls encountered a snake (bull snake), which wasn’t too often, but they would come running and screaming, so I would get my hoe and pick it up (the full length of the hoe handle away) and carry it off away from the house or wherever the girls were. If it happened to wiggle off the hoe on the way to where I was taking it, I just let it do it’s thing and it generally went the opposite direction, thank God! I live in the sandhills of Nebraska now and haven’t experienced a snake since I’ve been out here. But they say there are some rattlers around. But I live in town and haven’t seen any. And I hope I don’t. I’m an outdoor person, but seeing a rattler could make me house bound in a heartbeat. LOL
Yes! Rattlers always make the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
Oh my! I live in the country…..have chickens, dogs, cats, and goats! I love all my pets…..but the 1 thing I can’t handle is snakes! I am trying to identify King Snakes, and of course grass snakes…..we have rattle snakes here in the South that are 5-6′. And as big as a mans arm in diameter! So, when I scream like a girl, my husband should not hollar back at me “WHAT?” It should be automatically bring a weapon! I DON’T DO SNAKES!! There has been one in our barn around the feed cans, the hubby has seen him….but I haven’t !!! I am to terrified to even kill them!
Love your post! Love living the country/ homestead life, just wish Texas wasn’t so HOT!
6′ Rattlers? NO thanks! 😉 Ours usually aren’t that big– thank goodness!
Wow, that was the most hair raising post I have read in awhile. Tornadoes and snakes…I don’t deal with either real well. In my lifetime I have dealt with one snake in the house.. of which someone else took out. I have dealt with only one tornado in my life ..went zinging through the pasture within 500 yards of house!
Thanks for sharing your crazy, fun day!
Shannon
I just stumbled on your website and really enjoyed your snake story. We live on 15 acres past nowhere and about 50 miles from Houston, TX. When we first moved here a neighbor about 1/4 mile away had moved away and left 17, yes 17, cats she had been feeding. My husband and I trapped them all and had them fixed then we let them go on our property. They are always leaving me “presents” of field mice or moles but they also kill snakes and scorpions. Several times they have left dead copperheads on the porch steps and a couple of times they have suffered snakebites – they have all recovered. Maybe you should get a few brave cats.
It has been 37 years since we lived in Wyoming but I had to laugh at your snake and tornado stories. I learned to shoot so I could deal with rattlesnakes as I wasn’t brave enough to get a hoe’s handle close to them. We lived on a ranch about 35 miles south of Torrington so had plenty of snakes. We also had a tornado and ended up taking shelter in the only cave on our section of the ranch along with two other couples six kids and 3 dogs. One of the things I appreciate most about Northern Iowa is no poison snakes. There are timber rattlers in Iowa but they are shy and seldom seen. We’re in flat crop land so no rattlers here. Both states have plenty of wind, blizzards and tornadoes but I think our tornadoes are worse and your blizzards are worse. Wind is about the same — never ending.
Sounds like you still have plenty adventure where you are at now Anna! 🙂 And the wind… it never stops, huh?
Please, please, please…no one should take this personally. This is not my wisdom, but that which I have come across.
Snakes are not “poisonous” you can eat as many as you want without a problem. Some are venomous, and their bite is dangerous. It’s a pet peeve over misnomers, just like “hot water heater” or “canadian geese.” As you don’t need to heat hot water, it’s a water heater. And geese do not have a nationality (unlike bacon) they are properly called canada geese.
OK, so you have to call the Poison Control Center if bitten, but only because there is no Venomous Control Center…go figure.
I hear ya Mark– you actually aren’t the first to point that out to me recently. 😉 I’m trying hard to change my “poisonous-typing” ways. hehe
It’s nice to hear that it is not just us, here on the farm in Kansas, that has adventures like that! 🙂
There is ALWAYS something going on like that. Thank you for sharing!
Linda b
I have so enjoyed reading you stories of your life on your homestead. I would love to live where you raise all your food and I am researching homesteading and not having all these bills. I am working on it. But I learn a lot from people like you writing about what really goes on with homesteading and I think it is a good life to live. Thank you.