Copperhead Road

I got to pull weeds out of the azaleas and this time I managed to pull out the plants that my mother didn't want. There were only three clumps of bushes, perhaps the size of two double beds put side by side. However, there were so many weeds living in those bushes that it required 5 hours of effort on my part to de-weed the stupid things. When I was in the second bush, I found yet another copperhead (fortunately I found it before it struck my foot this time) by picking out its banded pattern from the ivy. I dispatched it while Sadie Mae the Beagle was still chasing her dumb ball, oblivious to the intruder, and barking as loud as she could while my nose was six inches from the red pinestraw. That makes the 4th? 5th? one of the summer. The third bush had a whole damn forest of vines growing in it. I discovered caterpillars, in the leaves, which emitted a green viscous substance and managed to bite through my left cotton glove. After I got through, I mentioned the caterpillars to my dad who said, "Oh no. They could eat all the leaves off the bushes." Perhaps if I'd given the caterpillars more time...