Dear Fearless Homeowner,
Do you ever get the feeling “stuff” is taking over your life?
Periodically, I start itching to reduce the amount of stuff we have. The last time we bought a new house I had a garage sale before we moved so I wouldn’t have to transport anything I didn’t need anymore, and we also had a garage sale after we moved for items we realized didn’t have a proper spot in our new house. After every garage sale I host, the same debate rages in my head...Was it really worth it to sit out there for hours on end to make a few bucks, when I could just as easily have donated the items to a charitable organization?
We tried a garage sale again this past weekend. After getting burnt to a crisp sitting in the blazing sun for hours on Friday and Saturday, I can definitively say the trickle of people brave enough to venture into the heat did not buy enough to make the whole endeavor worth the effort!
I should have learned my lesson and thought better of having a garage sale after the incident we had last year. I’m not sure we’ve lived that down in our neighborhood yet. It all started when I asked my mother if she’d mind holding down the fort while I took a short break from the sale to water the flowers.
Several birds were having a squabble in a nearby crape myrtle tree. Being an animal lover, I cringe when I hear animals fighting, but I’ve finally accepted that sometimes nature has to sort itself out. When I’ve tried to break up bird fights in the past, they usually just go back to fighting as soon as I’ve gone inside anyway.
My resolve to let things be finally broke down after listening to the repeated squawks for a full five minutes. What I found when I went to investigate further shocked me...A snake (not just any snake, but the biggest snake I’d ever seen outside of a zoo) had slithered his way up the crepe myrtle tree and was snacking on the contents of a bird’s nest. The scene was a little less horrifying due to the fact I knew the eggs had not hatched yet. Nonetheless, I was not a fan of that large creature hanging out in my front landscaping!
When I found Chris working in his home office, I think my attempt at calm was probably worse than if I had come in screaming. After breathlessly repeating a few times that everyone was alright, I eventually made it clear he needed to remove the snake immediately.
So in the middle of the sale, Chris came running out the garage door welding a machete knife yelling, “Where is he?” at the top of his voice. And yes, we did have neighbors and strangers walking up to the sale at just that moment.
It would have been the end of the snake, but we both stopped a minute to ask ourselves if this was just one more part of the wildlife we love at this house...And a snake has to eat breakfast too, doesn’t he? I quickly resolved that no snake that size had any business being anywhere near my house, but the moment of hesitation had allowed him to escape. The next twenty minutes were spent with Chris waving the large knife around and randomly hacking at imagined snake movements. Through it all, people continued to walk up the driveway, tried to disguise their concern, and pleasantly wished us a good day as they hustled back to their cars. I’m surprised the police didn’t show up.
Our garage sale was a little less eventful this year. We may not have sold as much as I had hoped, but at least I’ve sorted through some things and have a big pile of items to donate. More than anything, I’m just glad we haven’t had any more large snakes hanging around our house. One family in Idaho hasn’t been as lucky with snakes. A friend sent me this story about a house that has a hard time staying sold because of its snake infestation! Our one slithering visitor doesn’t seem so bad after you hear this story. Enjoy!
~Kristin
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