I was on a parts run to Liberal the other day, and stopped in at Stanion to pick up some things on my list.  A rather young, but quite friendly dude whom I hadn’t seen in there before met me at the counter and asked what I needed. 

My first impression had me curious how we were going to communicate.  He had a chew in his lower left cheek and on around into his bottom lip that looked like it might have filled a Solo cup at least half full if he had spat it all out.  Coupled together with the pinched brim of his baseball cap, neck length hair, a 2 inch beard and glasses pushed tight up against the bridge of his nose, he made an appearance.  But like I say, he was friendly, which I could sense even before we started speaking to each other.  He must have had a part time career in disappearing acts; the chew was as mysteriously gone as it was large before once we started visiting.

He said he was from Oklahoma.  We talked weather for a bit, commenting on how dry everything was getting, and I mentioned the bad rattlesnake problem we have had this year.  He really came alive when we started talking snakes. 

He told me he was a snake hunter; he caught and delivered snakes, rattlers of course, to the snake round up festival some 60 miles east of where he lived.  I mentioned that snakes must not bother him much.

“Oh no,” he said, “I’d way rather sit down beside a snake than a spider any day.”

I squinted hard at his back as he led the way to get my parts.  Rather sit down by a snake than a spider, I mused.  Sort of went along with his appearance.   But he may have had a point.  One of my children told me later that more people are admitted for serious hospital stays stemming from spider bites than from snake bites.

I asked him how many times he had been bit. 

“Twice.  Once on my fingers of my left hand.  Went in and got them fixed up.  Just fight a little arthritis in them when it gets cold.  Other time was in my leg.  Thought I’d try to tough that one out without going in; it’s still givin’ me problems.”

I was about ready to leave when he got started on king snakes.  He said they kill rattlers.  I listened close, because we’ve killed seven rattlers already this year and they’ve all been nearby home.  He said king snakes kill by constriction, not by biting or poison.  Said he threw a king snake in with a 6-foot rattler and the rattler was squirming every which way trying to get out of the bucket they both were in.  Claimed he could have reached his hand right in there and never been bit, it was so alarmed. 

He told me he had a king snake there and I asked to see it.  And true enough, inside a kitty litter bucket I saw a completely black snake with yellow speckles mottled all over it.  If there’s any truth to what he says, I would venture to say someone could turn some handy cash by becoming a king snake dealer in these parts.   

The last thing he told me was that he had seen a mouse kill a rattler.

*****

I must have written the above last year sometime; but rereading it made me think of snakes and how dry it is here again.

I’ve been watching for snakes on the road.

And watching the sunsets.

And the pheasants.

Easter is coming up; I’ll be watching that weekend.

If we get any fogs, I’ll be counting days after them.

And, I’ll be listening for the first cicada. 

Now I’m definitely not a weather geek.  Or who knows what name my sis will try to attach to me about all this. 

If you spread a weather map in front of me, I couldn’t tell you what high and low pressure lines are.  Neither would I know how to interpret any other of the interesting looking symbols.

But I do have a fascination with weather predictions that nature itself gives.

And it all started years ago at the gas pumps here in our local town. 

I was gassing up and an old timer, named Curly, was on the other side the pumps.

I told him I had seen a snake on the road and thought maybe we’d soon be getting some rain. 

Curly’s gone now, but I wish I would have picked his lore of wisdom a few more times. 

He leaned in close and asked, “Which way was the snake headed?”

I said I didn’t have a clue.

He said, “Take note, it’ll tell you if your gonna get rain or not.  If they are headin’ west, they’re movin’ to higher ground and we’ll get rain.  If they are headin’ east, they aint concerned about the weather and we’re in for a dry spell.”

I almost snorted out load at what I thought was the height of ludicrousness.

I wanted to guffaw and say, “What about when they go north or south?”  But, it turns out, after a good 20 years, he has been right, 98% of the time.  The north and south snakes don’t count.

If I see the sun heading down behind a cloud on Wednesday, I take note to watch it all the way down, if I have time, that is.  Because if it makes it all the way down behind that cloud, we WILL have rain by Sunday.  If it peeks out at the last minute, like so often happens here in Kansas, forget it.  No rain.

It’s a rarity to see a pheasant roosting in a tree, they don’t do that.  But if you ever do, look for rain.

And like I said, I’ll be taking especial note this Easter weekend, just like I have other Easter weekends.  Because if we get rain on that weekend, as sure as taxes, we’ll have rain for seven weekends afterwards.

Okay, okay.  You’re getting weary of this aren’t you.

Fogs are interesting here in Kansas.  Seems like we don’t get them a lot, but then we don’t get a lot of rain either.  Both are tied to each other, with 90 days in between. 

They are tied to each other the same way the cicada and our first frost are.  Except it’s 100 days, give or take a couple, for the cicada and frost. 

Okay.  I’m done.  Except calves are sure interesting to watch before a storm.

And I’d be interested in what weather signs you go by in your locale.