Celebrate the Small Things with Reptiles

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chanc
e for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) Reptiles... maybe? There's two different angles on this one:

A) Reptile Show at the Library! During the Summer Reading Program at our local library, a special program is offered to the kids every Wednesday. This last week was reptile day. Dean Sheldon came in and let the kids view a small part of his private collection of reptiles and creepy, crawly things. Who is Dean Sheldon? He's the Guinness World Record holder for sticking the largest venomous scorpion in his mouth. (Don't ask me why anyone would want to do this, but I guess he does.) Anywho, he did a great job with the kids, showing them everything from snakes to scorpions (obviously) to alligators to dragon lizards. The kids were able to pet and hold most animals, which they loved.

Now, to the other reptile moment I experienced this week. I'm celebrating. . .

B) A venomous snakes which, by some miraculous feat, didn't bite me. Yes, you can read that sentence again because my heart still skips several beats at the thought.  I was weeding in the garden when three inches off of my hand (and I mean literally no more than that) an overly friendly Copperhead suddenly slid past. He was a big guy- at least 2 feet long. What did I do? Carefully and very, very slowly (with no sudden movements whatsoever) drew back as he continued to slither straight into the rock wall right below my knees and in between the cracks.

Needless to say, my husband came to the rescue a few moments later and the snake is no more.  I always feel bad when we kill something, but we couldn't let him live there, since it's near the kids' pool and the house and my garden....*takes a deep breath* I think you get the picture. But if it makes the poor snake feel any better, I will never forget him. Promise.


2) My son is done with Boot Camp, and he finished with 299 out of 300 points! (I know this has to do with the physical tests they have to pass, but I really don't know much more than that) Unfortunately, he's not heading home yet. He now as Infantry training for a few weeks, but that shouldn't be quite as tough as Boot Camp was.

And to round things up, here are the pictures I promised last week. 

Our hay.

This year, we hauled in around 1900 bales, and I was dead at the end. Not only tired, but there were a few joints and muscles that were reminding me that I might slowly be getting a bit old for such things. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder if I ever want to cut hay again.

The stack is around 15 feet high. So I'm going to have tons of fun knocking those top bales down. Seriously. You'll see me climbing up there for kicks every now and then. I mean, it's a haystack! Yay!

This is our trusty baler, a tough guy from the 1960's. He's slow but hasn't failed us yet.

These silly guys refused to help me bring in the hay! Instead, they think they have to cool off under the faucet
Can't depend on those chickens.
*rolls eyes*

What about you? What put a smile on your face this last week? Find a new show to bing watch on Netflix? Find yourself with an extra hour of free time on your hands? Finish up a nasty section on your writing?

What are you celebrating this week?