A couple of years ago when it was cold outside, I was preparing to get an early start on some pool cleaning. I set the filter to rinse out the pipes and turned on the pump. It labored sluggishly, but I could tell from the sound that it had pressure building and that water should soon start coming out at a normal rate instead of the trickle that was draining. It finally belched out an enormous surge of water as it cleared a major clog. A huge blacksnake had slithered into the drain pipe to shelter from the cold. If I hadn’t been so fascinated by the surprise, I might have jumped or even squealed when that thing was spit out at my feet. It appeared much larger than the apparent amount of space available. I suppose it must have curled up inside the fat pipe. The water inundating him was very cold, and not exactly conducive to him making a quick getaway. I’m sure he didn’t appreciate the rude awakening from his winter nap even less than I appreciated him declaring squatter’s rights in my filter drain pipes…
I didn’t kill it. I just carried it out to the woods so that we’d be less likely to unexpectedly confront each other in the near future.
