A very unexpected visitor

It was a quiet, peaceful morning. The sun was shining. The dogs were quiet. There was no TV blaring unpleasant news. All was well with the universe. Gordie was relaxing in the living room playing a video game from the comfort of his favorite armchair. Patches, the cat, was on the front porch frolicking with a bug. A Norman Rockwell moment, indeed. When suddenly, without warning, something fell from a rafter onto Gordie’s back. He turned around to look and saw that it was a snake. Yes, another of those 135 species of snakes that live with us in Costa Rica. Gordie jumped up. Quickly brought Patches in to take care of the situation. The cat was intrigued and initially played with the snake but lost interest when it slithered behind a bureau in the bedroom. Thinking all was safe it then slithered out and into a plaid bag that was on the floor. Our advantage. The bag made a convenient carrying case as we brought our visitor down to a neighbor’s to see if it was poisonous. Neighbor #1 thought it might be but decided to check with neighbors #2 and 3 who confidently declared the snake to be harmless. We let it free and now our unexpected visitor is slithering its way through the jungle -- never to return – we hope.