So today started out like any other normal day UNTIL I decided to take the trash out.  Yup....someone has to do it!

As I opened the side garage door I nearly jumped out of my skin when I almost stepped on a RATTLE SNAKE!!!  Yup....you read correctly...a "RATTLA" as my husband would call them!  Let's back up a little....no coffee yet and after this no coffee needed!

Oh my gosh...what am I going to do?  Hubby is out of town......so he can't come to my rescue.  My Yorkshire Terror, I mean Terrier, is begging to go outside to my rescue and I am feeling trapped in my own home.  So what do I do.....I decide to GRAB MY CAMERA!  OK I called a neighbor first but I am always thinking about AR and Blogging!  Can you say ADDICTED!

I find my camera and head around to the front of the garage only to see he MOVED!!!

HE IS NOW HEADING INTO MY OPEN GARAGE!!! 

Yes, I am yelling.....how many times has my husband told me not to leave the garage door open. 

So I take a wide running loop around the snake into the garage and hit the garage button and I watch what seemed like an eternity for the door to close.  Hoping it landed on the snake like a guillotine....but no such luck!                             <----------Look at the SIZE of the RATTLE!!!!

Now I come out the front door to witness this intruder heading back towards my BACKYARD!  Where is my neighbor...my HERO???

Living in Murrieta  CA near the Santa Rosa Plateau we have witnessed lots of wild life....besides snakes, coyotes, owls, red-tailed hawks, bobcats etc.... So you would think I would be use to this.  Nope!

Here is my Hero Mark.  The first thing he said was "Wow...that's a Big One!" 

After poking it a couple of times with a shovel (Kids....Don't do this at home!) the snake  decided to hide and crawled up under my beautiful italian cyprus tree. 

Mark decided he needed a better tool/weapon so he asked me to keep an eye on it and he would be right back! 

No problem I can handle that!  Me and the snake weren't going anywhere!

Mark returned promptly with a pvc pipe with tape wrapped around it and a rope down the middle of the pipe.  "That's a cool tool" I said.  "I just made it" he said. 

 Ok this guy means business!!!! :)

Believe it or not....Mark didn't kill the snake.  Actually I think he was trying to but the darn guy wouldn't give up!  So he told me he was going to throw it into the back of his truck and take it to HIS HOUSE to show it to his boys!  Fine by me!  Who am I to say not to take "my" snake!!!   

Here are some more action shots for your viewing pleasure.

"Ok I know he's in there somewhere!!!!"

Now he's got em'! I know he may look small but he is really really huge! :)

And if you've never heard a Rattle Snake RATTLE....I have to tell you it is really LOUD and sounds really really SCARY!!! 

 Good Bye Rattla...Don't come back soon!!!!

 The moral of this story......you tell me?