David Kralik Outdoors: A Strange Wildlife Episode

[NOTE: One of the outdoor magazines that I grew up on had a feature entitled "This Happened to Me" that depicted out of the ordinary outdoor experiences. This short blog article is a this happened to me thing ... something completely out of the ordinary and a first for me.]

You just don’t know what a day holds in store when you wake up in the morning.

Most days are routine and uneventful. Now and then one comes along that leaves an indelible memory etched into the memory chips.

Today was one of those memory makers despite the ordinary routineness that began the day.

I made a trip down to the other end of the county to pick up some barnwood. The drive down was pleasant. Hot enough to feel like summer but not brutal like it has been lately. Windows rolled down. Wing windows cocked at just the right angle.

It didn’t take long to load the wood onto my truck. I was in and out in less than thirty minutes and that includes a bit of time visiting with the retired Marine Captain and a retired Army Warrant Officer. I drove back out to Scenic 98, the less than ½ mile to County Road 32, and turned East on 32.

That’s where this strange episode began to play out.

It came from the passenger side and made its way to the driver’s side. Across the bottom of the windshield.

I wanted to video it or at least get a picture, but I figured I’d best leave that alone and mind the business of driving safely. Traffic. Plenty of it. Coming at me and following behind me.

I closed the drivers wing window and rolled up the window when it turned the corner headed toward the rear of the cab.

It turned and headed toward the bottom of the door just before the door handle. I’m thinking all the while that at road speed the wind would blow it off the truck. It disappeared altogether from my view and I figured it was gone. Wing window is open again. Driver’s window opened some but not all the way.

There it was again. It was coming through the wing window.

I shut the wing window on its head and held it in place.

What do you do with an Oak Snake ... a four feet long Oak Snake ... that’s doing its best to get into the cab of the truck with you?

I sat at the light at 32 and 98 and waited for the light to change. I couldn’t help but to chuckle and grin. I was wondering what folks in the flow of traffic might be thinking about this sight.

I pulled into the parking lot of the church there on 32, snapped this couple of pictures with my phone, then (without harm) removed the snake’s head from the wing window and turned it loose.