sandiegopets

 When my son was little and we lived in the country, every spring the snakes would come out of  hibernation. Although, we sometimes saw rattlers, mostly they were big, harmless bull snakes. My son used to catch them and bring them home. We’d let him keep them for a week or so, then return them to the wild.

One year, a snake came and made herself at home. She was a beautiful, mellow creature. She followed the sun around the house. We would find her curled up on the bedroom windowsill in the morning, then she’d move into the living room in late afternoon.

This snake had so much charisma. We called her Isis. She let us handle her and she liked to sit on our laps. I have no idea if she was really a she, but she felt female. We all felt she was.

I’ve never felt particularly drawn to snakes, but Isis was different. She seemed to know us. She stayed longer than any of the other snakes, nearly three weeks. But then the time came to release her. She was such a beautiful creature that we all knew she would be happier in the field eating mice.

Isis set raised the standard on snakes for us after that. Other snakes came and went. Some were angry and hissed. We let them go immediately. Others were more low key, but none of them connected like Isis.

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