Over on the Flutenet, the subject of snakes came up in a discussion through something of a roundabout way. Sandy C., in North Carolina, posted the following story in response to one of the snake comments, quoted directly from her post:

Funny snake story from my house: One day I was working in my kitchen, and noticed that a pair of cardinals that was nesting in the giant holly bush out my window were raising quite a ruckus (that's a technical term). I decided there must be a cat lurking near their nest, so I went out to chase it away. It turned out to be lovely large garter snake (nonpoisonous, sometimes kept as pets), but I couldn't reach it deep in the holly bush without getting a million stickers in me. So, I ran back in the house, got my kitchen tongs, and went back outside. I gently took hold of the snake about 8 inches back from its head, and it obligingly coiled the rest of his/her length around the tongs and my arm, and came loose from the holly bush. I then walked across my backyard, across the golf tee area just behind it, to the creek, and let it go. The foursome that was waiting to tee off saw me and gave me some seriously drop-jawed looks, so I turned and said...
"I had one too many for a pie..."
and kept walking....

-Sandy C in NC