My South | Copperhead inspires bout of overdue yardwork

One of the best self-help courses I’ve ever taken was “What Matters Most.” In that class, I learned that not everything that is urgent is important, and not everything that is important is urgent. I got a refresher lesson this week.

Jilda and I had family and friends over for the holiday this week, and my bones were weary by the time they all left. The kitchen was a mess, and we refuse to go to bed with a messy kitchen, so I washed the big stuff by hand while Jilda loaded the dishwasher with the smaller stuff.

After finishing that chore, I decided to dump the salty slush from the ice cream freezer. Salt water is no friend to plants, so I had to think where I wanted to dump the slush so I wouldn’t kill a tree or shrub. We have wisteria taking over the world on the lower side of our house that I’ve been fighting to keep within reason for some time. I think it’s related to kudzu.

Stepping to the edge of the light cast by our front porch lamp, I sloshed the contents out of the bucket and onto the vines. Holding the maple bucket upside down for a few moments, I let the contents drip. As I turned to go back inside, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Somewhere in the sympathetic nervous system deep inside my brain, I received fight or flight instructions at lightning speed.

In an instant, I realized that it wasn’t a harmless chicken snake or black racer, but a poisonous copperhead as big around as my forearm. Reflexively, I swung the bucket with all my strength, making contact to the reptile’s midsection, but the beast crawled off into a tangle of vines only a few feet away from where we walk every day.

Each day, my niece Samantha and her son Jordan jog down the path by our backyard fence and on through our garden. 

Cleaning up that area of the yard has been on my to-do list since early spring, but I never seem to find the time. 

I mentioned the encounter to Jilda when I got back inside, and she freaked. Neither of us slept much that night.

A clip of the snake biting someone went viral in my head and was in a continuous loop. It was like a news clip of some tragedy that plays over and over.

The next morning, I was up early and headed to my shed for tools. I had an urge to do some yard work because I knew there would be no rest until I finished the job. With an ax and long-handled rake, I started pulling the vines off the sweet gum tree and raking a tangle of dead vines from around the trunk. 

After about 15 minutes of cleaning, I raked up a pile of dried limbs and leaves. The snake had been hiding under the pile and crawled to escape deeper in the brush. He didn’t make it because I sliced him in two with the ax.

Believe it or not, I hated killing that snake. Had he been somewhere else other than my yard, I would have let him slide (no pun intended).  But the thought of the snake hurting a loved one because I didn’t make time to do my job kept me awake.

Even though keeping the yard clean isn’t urgent, it is important. That is a lesson I will remember.

Rick Watson is a columnist and author. His latest book Life Changes is available on Amazon.com. You can contact him via email at rick@homefolkmedia.com.