Cleaning up

Our Friends who had the fire here recently asked Donna and I to come an help her transport her horses to a trainer today and so we went over with our trailer to load them up and take them to Boerne. Danny wasn't able to go with us because he said he was waiting on a guy to bring him a snake. Apparently the guy has had the snake for 7 years and she has just gotten too big for him to manage anymore and called Danny to see if Danny could give him a good home. Of course Danny agreed!

So we left and took the horse to Boerne and spent the day with Debbie. We stopped and had lunch and just enjoyed the day....We spoke about the cleanup, a little about the fire and the plans fro reconstruction and it was good to hear the HOPE she had in her voice for the future... They really did lose ALOT in this fire and we know it has been emotionally, physically and monetarily draining for them both... Like I said before, I wish there was more we could do to help them!

Well, we got back from dropping the horses off and I asked Danny if he got his new snake...He said he had... I asked...

"So how big is it?"
"She is 121 pounds and about 12-14 feet long"

"Well lets go see her!"
"You bet, lets go!!"

Most of Danny's snakes survived the fire as they were in another building. As we walked into the warm, humid building, I was getting excited to see the new snake... He took me to her tank, and here she is....She is a Burmese python, and ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!

It was nice to see all of the animals that survived and it was good to see Danny smiling as he showed me around to re-visit his babies.... This is about a 15 foot albino, reticulated python....She is not quite so nice, so I kept my hands out of her cage!

He has spoken of his anaconda a few times and I had seen her once, but for some reason, Anacondas remind me of a big ass water moccasin and the creep me out. I didn't see her in the cages and I said...

"Danny, where is your anaconda?"

And I was standing right next to a large Rubbermaid trash can and he said...

"Oh, she is right here!

Pulled the lid off, and no more than 3 feet from me was a 14 foot anaconda in a trashcan full of water with her head sitting on the top....I got IMMEDIATE goose bumps!!

He explained she was shedding and needed to be in the water to get the skin off of her better.... She would roll around int he tank and these large sheds of skin would float to the top and it creeped me out to think about walking through some water somewhere and seeing a piece of skin like this floating...Man, that would freak me OUT!! And not sure why, but this girl gives me the creeps!

We walked around a bit and I snapped a few shots of some of his other "babies"

LOOK AT THOSE EYES!!!!! DAMMIT MAN!!!!

As i was taking pics of the Cobra, I heard Danny say...

"Here Brad, check this guy out!"

And I turned around and he handed me this guy....A blue tongued skink.... I tried to get a picture of his tongue, but couldn't catch it...it is sky blue!! He is too cool!!

The place is coming along pretty good but it is still just heartwrenching to walk around the place and see the destruction....But the damaged building is gone and they have plans to build a 60x65 foot, cinder block building to replace what they lost. They are hoping for 3500sp feet, all cutting edge stuff to house their reptiles. Like I said, it is really good to hear the HOPE in their voices and see the smiles on their faces!

As we started to leave, I asked about one of his large snappers that almost got caught in the fire....he said...

"Oh yeah, he is over in that blue tank...Go pick him up and check him out!"

I had not seen this turtle before because he has always been in "green" water and you cant see him. I walked up to this blue tank that was partially melted from the fire, looked into it, saw clear water and a HUGGGE Snapping Turtle....I will bet you this turtle is all of 5-6 feet long from tip of his nose to tip of his tail and he weighs about 80lbs....His head is about the size of a basketball, or maybe a little bigger....He is a MONSTER turtle and I have NEVER seen one in person this big....Hell, I don't know if I have seen one on TV this big!! He is HUGE!!

Danny says....

"just reach in there and pick him up."

I looked at him and said ....

"F%^K YOU, that a big ass turtle man, he could literally bite my wrist in half...You are outta your mind!"

He said...

"No, really, just grab his shell from right behind his head, and grab the shell right by his tail, and just lift him up...It will be OK, I promise!"

I know Danny would never put me in a position to get hurt (without warning me) but I gotta tell ya, this big ole boy is....well....a BIG OLE BOY!!

So I reached into the tank like Danny said, grabbed him like he said, he started to swell up a little and move his head, and I took a deep breath and lifted him out...

He was SOOOOOO Cool man....Moved really slow, didn't react at all to me....

I put him back in the tank and Danny said....

"yeah, he is an old guy....He is about 115 years old!!!"

Think about that...that turtle is 115 years old!! Can you imagine the life this old guy has seen? The people who have probably picked him up and had him as a pet when he was a baby?? The different places he has been!!??

And to think, Danny saves turtles this big and bigger from hunters who sell them to restaurants.... I just couldn't imagine killing a 115 year old turtle to put him in a soup...Sad!

So we finished up the day, helped out Danny and Debbie and headed home.... I always really do enjoy my visits to their home....Always something new to see and experience...We are blessed to have them as friends!

Thanks guys!!