Here is a big reason of my fear of snakes.

When I was in high school I was in COE my Junior and Senior years where I worked three hours of the school day.

I worked for a local welder and had it set up where I worked the first three hours of the day. The welder hunted so in the Spring we would turkey hunt till 10 and I would be back in time for fourth hour. I had study hall fourth hour and the old assistant principal was the study hall monitor that hour.

He knew the gig and we had it worked out that if I didn’t call the school and let them know I was going to absent, he counted me as being there even if I wasn’t. His deal was I had to leave two ducks a week on his back porch during duck season and no questions would be asked.

Anywho - one morning the welder picked me up at my house at O dark thirty to go turkey hunting. First time for me going to this property with him. The entire 45 minute drive there he repeatedly told me there were rattle snakes on the land. He said most people get bit after they shoot their bird because they are excited and recklessly step over logs and brush going to get their bird.

He told me as long as I use caution and had my leather boots on I should be okay. He said although leather boots don’t prevent the bite ithey are pretty tough to get through. Especially if it is not a straight on strike.

Anyway, fast forward to getting to the land, I got out of his truck and reached over the bed rail to grab my stuff out of the bed of his truck and there were no boots. I had wore tennis shoes and usually took my boots and put them on to hunt. I had left them laying on my front porch in the darkness.

So, he gave me directions on where to go - follow this trail up that ridge and then head to the right when you get to the top. Go about 50 yards and there is a small clearing the turkeys like to pitch down to in the mornings. But...they also like to roost close so don’t use a flashlight, just slip in there and get set up early and be waiting on them.

So, I start up the trail and go what seems like 200 yards up towards the top of the ridge, going slow and squinting to see as I went with any available moonlight that was left on one side and light just starting to peep on the other.

Through the concentration of doing my best to see, the only other thing on my mind was rattlesnakes.

I get about 20 yards from the top of the ridge and walked by a small bush right next to the trail....and right then and there it happened....a covey of quail flushed out of the brush in the darkness and I just knew it was a rattlesnake about to bite my fat arse.

The next thing I remember is being back in the truck in still what seemed like total darkness.

I finally went back up the trail about 20 minutes after daylight and when I got to the clearing he talked about there was 5 turkeys running the other way.

Snakes and mosquitoes have no reason to be on this earth we call home!!!