"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Farm safety

RMan and I spoilt each other at Christmas.  Something that would allow us to roam the land LOL in safety.

Of all the wildlife visitors we've had, I not scared of African Duckbills, or Blue Cranes, or Hoopoes, or Sunbirds.  Nor am I scared of hares, fallow deer or...
Mandy spotted this small tortoise crawling through
the grass from about 25mtrs away
... tortoises.  Mice - they give me the heebies - literally goosebumps everywhere.

But, I am v-e-r-y cautious regarding these guys...
Can you see what we saw?  At the top of the wood...?
Can you see her?

Hiding on top of the wood?

I had specifically lent the wood against the house so that it would not be a hiding spot for anything dangerous.  I didn't think of something that would slither it's way up it...
No longer dangerous
 This is apparently an adult female boomslang.
I don't feel that guilty - after all the Book describes
Serpents as non-desirables
Roughly 180 cms in length.

Now, if you add this to the cape cobra which we discovered in December 2011, you'll understand why I am not keen to go traipsing round our property.  Yes, we have invaded their territory, and yes, it is a good mouse catcher.  But I'd rather have owls and bullfrogs perform that chore.  Fussy, aren't I?  :)

I reckoned that we should've moved it down to near the stream, but our labourer said, "nope -they move too fast", and we had nothing to catch it with.  So he dispatched it to the next life - down below.

With that in mind, we bought ourselves these for Christmas...
WGuy and MKid trying mine out for size
 ... quaddies :)

Now we can safely move around the property without fear of becoming something's victim :)  And MKid is in kid heaven - all he wants to do now is grow up quicker so that he can ride one on his own...

14 comments:

  1. Eee-gad .. the snakes would do me in. Those vehicles are workhorses! (And big boy toys;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mrs Mac - LOL Ahem - big (little) girls toys also... I'm in seventh heaven!

      Delete
  2. Love the new toys! Ang I agree, snakes give me the heebee geebee's as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They are quite shy snakes and are back-fanged, so they find it difficult to inject poison into something like your leg or foot...people have even been known to keep them as pets. Nevertheless, if they do manage to chew on a finger, it's fatal if anti-venom not available. I seem to think that they have to store the anti-venom at a certain altitude too....so not guaranteed to be immediately available. Our neighbour here in Cape Town has one living in his roof and we often see it gliding out onto the top of the roof extension to sun itself!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MD&E - Thanks for the info. Not at all keen on having anything living in our roof...!

      Delete
  4. I know that feeling of not being comfortable out in the paddocks/bush. I think about them ALL the time. Scary! Enjoy the quads.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda - Almost as thought they are watching you, waiting for you to make a mistake and come too close to them... LOL

      Delete
  5. Ps we have a South African friend who lives nearby. I keep telling her about you and your blog. She asked me what area you live and I realised I don't have a clue. Do you mention this somewhere and I missed it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's in my profile - near Swellendam in the Western Cape :)

      Delete
  6. I don't like snakes much myself !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane - They make me "shudder" each time I see one...

      Delete
  7. I don't seem to mind the snakes around here, but then again, I have not seen some of the bigger ones that can be found here and I sure if I came across something that large it would get my attention. I don't wear boots, but it things like that were around, boots would be first on my list of things to buy! YIKES!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emily - Nah - snakes of any kind get me going. Guess it's all the horror stories I've heard from our friend and GP. Plus the fact that we're so far out of town, and I'm not even sure if they carry ALL the anti venoms... That's supposing that I could identtify the asp in the first place... Boots - I probably should, but who wants to in temps of 35 - 40oC?

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day and removes the "loneliness' of sitting at my screen blogging supposedly to myself ;) I try and reply as quickly as possible so please forgive me if sometimes my response is delayed.