Betty's Ssssssssurrender

For those of you who have been following the Betty saga, you will be interested to know that she has stopped digging for potato bugs in our yard. The fix was simple, really. A couple of weeks ago, we were out taking a walk around the neighborhood and what should John stumble upon but a baby garter snake. He got really excited because he's been obsessed with catching a snake and putting it in the vines in front of our house so it can eat any mice that may be lurking around there (we're not fans of the Hantavirus). He catches the snake and puts it in an empty saltine box and we head back home so he can set the snake free in our vines.

As we approach our house, we see Betty playing with some of the other neighborhood kids in the street. As we walk past her, she was curious as to what we're carrying.

Betty: What's in the box?

Me: You can come and see.

Betty and the other girls come running over and start squealing when they see it's a snake.

Betty: It's a snake!

John: Sure is.

Me: Guess what we're going to do with it?

Betty: What?

Me: We're going to set it free in the vines in front of our house. You know, the sames vines you crawl through to search for potato bugs.

Betty: (pause) You wouldn't dare.

John: Sure we would. He'll eat the mice.

Betty: You wouldn't dare!

Me: Sure would. Do you want to come watch while he set him free?

Betty: I don't believe you! You aren't going to put a snake in those vines!

John: Betty, I've actually been putting snakes in those vines all summer long. (He hasn't)

By this time, we are in our driveway in front of our house.

Betty: (pause) I don't believe you. You wouldn't dare put that snake in there.

John: (visibly drops the snake into the vines)

Betty: I can't believe you just did that!

Me: Sssssssssssorry Betty.

Betty laughs hysterically at the snake reference.

John: You can still come look in our vines. I'm sure the sssssssssnake will sssssssstay on his sssssssside of the vinesssssssssss.

Betty again laughs hysterically at the brilliant use of the sssssssss, but she continues to keep her distance. Make no mistake about it, Betty is not keen on the idea of crawling around in the vines and running across a slithering reptile. We realized the other day that Betty has not returned to the vines. Sure, school has started, but I think it's more than that. Who knows, she might google "gartner snakes" and realize that they are harmless and be back, or she might just hang up her potato bug hat. Ironically, I really miss seeing her in our yard. Here's hoping she returns.