Poisoned Paradise

While the snake I was swimming with was not venomous, there is another poison in my paradise. The reason I could not safely launch an truely self-sufficant project out here in the woods is: it's too late. Chernobyl. Much of the dust clouds from the Chernobyl disaster rained down here. I can, as I did yesterday, pick blueberries for an occasional pie, but not pick and make jam for the whole year. I know when I'm burning firewood, I'm releasing radioactive particles into the air again. It's forbidden to eat the fish from the lakes around here. And so on... Sorrow in my heart. The poison in paradise isn't the snake, but the humans.

Water Snake

Yesterday evening I wanted to wash some dust off, and went to the little island to take a swim there. The water is warm and it was a sunny, beautiful evening. I was carefully stepping into the water, since the rocks are both sharp and slippery-slimy there, when I felt a sudden hesitation. In my mind I saw a snake swimming towards me in the water. "Ridiculus" I told myself, "what are the odds that an adder will be swimming towards me?"

Repeating that in my mind, mantra-like, I swam out. As I swam out from the island I could see around it, and guess what? A snake was swimming towards me! Unbeliveable. I paniced and swam towards land and quickly I was out of the water. Then I saw the yellow markings behind it's head; It was jus an non venomous grass snake, or water snake as they also are called.

The snake was not much startled but did make a little way around me in the water as I was swimming ashore. Then it came up on land two meters from me, inbetween some rocks and vegetation. After a rest in the sun it continued on it's way around the island. Amazing. The animal life around the cottage are not at all afraid of humans. Squirrels, toads, birds... Now a snake, too.