2013 year of the snake

Apparently 2013 is the year of the snake.

I am not a fan of snakes. I have been trying to "get over" my absolute fear and phobia of snakes. It has taken me a very long time to get to a point where I don't go into panic mode. I can see a snake now without totally losing the plot, but I still hate them. They are evil animals with evil beady eyes that freak me out!

When I see one on the road I try to run them over if I can. We have a lot of snakes here, and I have grown up with my mother instilling a fear of snakes to the max. So, it is no surprise that I developed a phobia of them.

When I used to see them in the garden, I used to run squealing into the house having a full blown panic attack, and that awful feeling when the blood totally drains from your face.

After a few "Get a hold of yourself girl!" and "Snakes are everywhere and you probably walk past a hundred that you don't know about!". From my lovely husband, I have learnt to try to live with them.

I probably got better at handling my fear when I saw how calm he was when dealing with them. Somehow, it helped. I still sometimes jump up and have that horrible shivery feeling when I have a close encounter with them, but I am not a sobbing mess anymore afterwards.




My worst nightmare, but a pretty cool pic!
http://angelagilltrap.tumblr.com/image/37000664558

I almost stepped on a young brown snake yesterday when I was watering my fruit trees. It whipped around, and I jumped up and sprinted away from it. It was my own silly fault for wearing thongs out there! You don't have much chance of getting bitten with big boots or gumboots on, so I really should of been wearing better protective gear.

And I also realised that I am getting a bit better at dealing with them than I used to.

I read today that the Chinese New Year is all about fire and water colliding together. And that you should not do any landscaping or renovations on the South East of your home as the snake is making his way in that direction, and nothing should block a snake's path as he makes his journey through the year. Who knows if this is true? It sounds strange, but now I wish I had my verandah all completed since it is on the South East! Lucky there isn't any digging or major work to be done there, just a bit more gauzing and painting to go.

Also the year of the snake brings violence, which sounds pretty awful. Sept 11 happened in the last year of the snake. It all sounds very strange, and I am not superstitious at all about things like this. I just hope that I don't see too many scary brown snakes around my house anymore!

Hmmm will wait and see what it all means....