this post is not for the

squeamish. So I will refrain from posting a picture at the top, and let you read a bit, before seeing the shots. Yesterday was a lovely day out side. We were out the whole afternoon. I pruned my blackberry jungle, and as I was tossing the dead canes into a pile, Petie came alone, and thought is was his own personal jungle gym. Goofy cat. He has this habit, when he goes up to something to "hug"it (cat people will know exactly what I am taking about) and he arches up waaaaaay high on his tippy toes. He sees the dog, and goes over to hug her. He misnegotiated the space however, and while arching and bumping his head into her, he looses his footing and goes ass over tea kettle, missing the dog completely. He jumps to his feet, smacks at the dog, and marches back to the patio. Poor dolly, she's old. She's deaf. She really doesn't care... anyhow, she hauls her old self (she has a touch of arthritis) up off the patio to come see what I am doing, still wrangling the blackberry bush. While she is hauling herself up, Petie starts to stalk her. he plows into her going 240, and as he is about to make impact, she moves. Petie has been thwarted again. He tumbled to the ground, AGAIN. (I swear he skipped the chapter about cats always landing on their feet.)
Anyhow, I move out front, because the kids want to ride bikes.

This is where you squeamish folks need to look away

Anyhow, thoroughly ticked, Petie takes all his aggression out on a snake that he happened to find. Where exactly he found it I have no idea, but find it he did. He showed us his talent for taking it and tossing it in the air. He showed us he could pick it up one paw'd. He showed us he can sit on it.
(don't ask) but most of all, he showed us he can play with it, and just walk away, being the "bigger cat" and all...

Now, you would think that seeing Petie with a snake would catch me a bit off guard. Nope, not in the slightest. The only time my furry companion has caught me off guard was last summer. I was weeding my one flower bed, which was full of tall, bushy flowers. Here I am, elbows deep in the plants, getting the weeds. petie comes dashing into the plants right next to me. Not really thinking much of it, (let's face it, this IS petie we're talking about) anyhow, out pops Petie, right next to me (about an inch from my nose) with a long, dangly, slithery garter snake in his mouth. That caused me to jump and fall on My keester. Had he not dove into the plants, I most likely would have grabbed a handful of snake (**shudder**) while weeding. How exactly he saw this thing I will never know, but he rescued me... lol

he did not "harm" the snake. He merely "wounded" the snake, and dh had to "harm" said snake....

The things we do in the name of Petie...