Good fences

You can\’t garden in the country unless you can keep snakes out. That means wrapping all the fences and gates in snake wire, blocking off every cranny and nook. And it works, angry snakes patrolling outside the fence, spitting angrily.

Unless. Ah, unless a snake gets in through a gate left open accidentally as a result of a mental block. Then you really have trouble because now the snake can\’t get out and you are stuck with it. Oh, you can try the obvious thing, opening a gate and shepherding the snake towards the opening. But snakes don\’t like to be directed, and instead of leaving they will turn back towards you, spitting venom. All you can do, really, is leave it to find a small hole to get out by itself, all the while trying to control your anxiety that a killer could be hiding anywhere near your house.