We were making lunch and Maria was opening a cabinet underneath the sink, and suddenly said, “whoa, look at this.” I thought it might be mouse droppings but instead she found a two-foot snake sticking it’s head out of the bottom cabinet. I have never seen a snake this size, in or out of a house, that wasn’t in a zoo. Maria didn’t blink, she went and got her gloves and reached down and pulled him out of the space between the cabinet and the floor. Then we took him outside and put him in an old stone wall by the pasture.

My girl is touch, artists are tough. I am not afraid of snakes, but she didn’t even think about it. I knew Maria was a wonderful person, knew she was a gifted artist. I did not know she would make such an amazing farm wife. She just loves it. She went out several times, of course, to make sure the snake was warm and had good hiding places.