Devin v. The Snake

We had a visitor last weekend. He came during one of the most amazing thunderstorms we've ever seen. As we were preparing to leave for dinner Devin looked out on the back porch and saw a dark black snake slither by. Against his better judgment Devin decided to notify Melissa. She of course, freaked out. And rightly so. We peaked out the back door and watched as the snake slithered along the back of the house and turned the corner. Devin joked that he was coming around to the front door, and when he opened the front door to complete the joke, the snake's head slithered across the front of the doorway. That was when Melissa pretty much lost it. The snake probably initially meant us no harm and was only looking for a dry place to wait out the storm. However, after Devin tried to hit it with a few rocks to scare it away, the snake came flying back toward the front porch ready to fight. He even knocked over Payton's flower pot she planted in pre-school. The battle lasted about forty-five minutes. At one point Devin called animal control and asked if they could send someone out to get a water moccasin (which upon further review was probably not accurate - it was probably a great plains rat snake). The girl on the phone almost laughed and told him they don't deal with "wild" animals. There were no human casualties, and Devin landed several good blows with rocks from the garden. After one final blow to the snake's tail he retreated to the neighbor's yard and we lost sight of it in the grass. We may of won the battle, but somehow living with the fact that he is still out there means he won the war. Not a day goes by that Payton doesn't remind us that the snake knocked over her flower pot (she holds grudges).