Oh, boy! Another Snake!

This photo is from a site of great pix and no information. So I cannot yet name this reptile.



This is a photo of a dead version of the same snake:

Maria José came in to tell me she’d seen a culebra, a snake, behind the water tank. She said it was poisonous and a danger to the dogs. I went with her to see it, and she chased it out with a length of PVC pipe and dispatched it like a pro. 

La Matadora

I hope it really was poisonous, and needed to be killed; in his last years, my father so appreciated life that he didn’t even want a fly to die at his hand. I feel much the same, although I kill flies with shameless glee... I've looked up the species of serpent, without success. I’m not sure I’ll feel differently even if it is poisonous. Vipers deserve to live, too. (Yes, it was venomous, according to the vet, who came with another injection for Susie.)

Little Susie is (temporarily) Skinny Ol’ Susie. She appears to have recovered from her bout with parvo virus, and has fleeting moments of appetite. She and Brynn are the only two in the hotdog lineup now, but Susie is as enthusiastic as ever. Big relief. Brynn has been just a tad bitchy to Susie, guarding her food and growling. It will pass.

Thanks to all the welding involved in construction of the Godzilla fence, my electric bill was five times bigger than last month’s!  Of course, last month had no fridge or computer or lamps in use, either. I figure the bill should even out at about $25.

About lamps: most Nicaraguan homes I’ve visited have few or no lamps to speak of. And many ceiling fixtures consist of a single bare bulb. Most houses have no closets, either. There just are not so many clothes, shoes, hats or what-have-you to require that kind of storage space. New homes being built usually have closets, due to consumer demand. Many Nicaraguans who left to live in the States or elsewhere come back in retirement with a taste for closets, small appliances, Twitter, and lamps.

And here is my new bookcase!  I actually wish it were a bit bigger, as there are more doodads cluttering the house. But I did empty most of the remaining boxes, and I think it looks swell. Those dolls on top are my latest acquisition from the San Sebastian Festival in Diriamba, costumed in the Güegüense tradition described in a January blog piece.

Thanks to Erlinda and Parzi for the hours of wifi in their Managua home!