My grass- mowing project in the country had progressed to bush- hogging weeds. I needed to get it done before it got worse; it surely was hot, though. The recent spell of cool nights seemed to have ended just when I needed it… it never did cool off last night. I took my boy along for an overnight in the hills, and, despite the heat, we had a pretty good outing. We took a detour on the way, for some sightseeing and discussions of people and places and happenings from bygone times. We visited Cousin’s house and caught some nice- sized brim from the pond. We were planning a fish- fry, so we needed enough fish to go around. We had caught several, but wanted two more before going back to start cleaning fish. Wouldn’t you know it... I kept missing strikes, losing fish in the water weeds, and hanging backcasts in the trees and bushes. My boy could only catch bass (I caught two of those, myself). The bass were only recently stocked into the pond, so it’s too soon to start depleting their numbers. We finally gave up, one fish short, and hiked back to start the cleaning and cooking. Supper was good, as was the company, and we had plenty fish.
As we were leaving, there was a buzzing sound from the driveway that I couldn’t recognize. It was a constant monotone and was too low- pitched for cicadas. There, in the shadow, a cat was crouched low. She faced toward a pile of coiled rattlesnake, about two feet away. There was rapid deployment of lights and guns and, at the first shot, Kitty made her escape; I hope she hadn’t already been bitten. That excitement, right there in Cousin's yard, kinda messed up my work projects… it's hard to concentrate on getting things done when you’re constantly watching the ground and flinching at every leaf you brush.
