there 's a snake inna kitchen what am i gonna.....

 .. various internet and computer troubles have kept me from posting.
the season is over, it was not good and not bad, decent is the best way to describe it. now the rains are  supposed to be here but they are only very moderately so; the odd thunderstorm and a drizzle or two and that's it so far. Cambo is in the claws of a heatwave, temperatures of 45 c seem to be the order of the day in PP. even up here in the mountains we do sweat.
 the tedium, boredom and absence of cash that go with the off season are no real fun at all.
the strange weather  makes for loads of great fruit on the trees and a variety of less appreciated wildlife. bugs, spiders millipedes (oh how i hate those) and - yes- snakes abound.
yesterday, i was sitting at the computer getting ready to blog, when Elvis snarled, growled and barked: when i looked up he was face to face with a rearing spitting cobra.. while stamping my feet and making the wood floor vibrate (snakes are deaf but hate vibration)s and ordering back elvis- who listened for once i was able to defuse the situation. the snake vanished under the freezer.. aaw. spitting cobras are mean and aggressive and i hate those in my kitchen.... i took the dogs and went to get help. bon serrei, her nephew and moni came  immediately, the snake was gone. into the wall, a hollow `space, there was no one under the freezer. moni went and got a special kind of lime in the market, seems snakes hate that smell and won't cross it ever, they rather starve. let's hope he is right. i do not scare easy, but that one did it. lucky break that elvis did not get bitten, and what a great dog he is!
 well where did that beast come from. fro m under the bar we decide; and today bon serrei and me had to  make sure there were no more reptilian surprises under the bar; moni's delightfully khmer  parting remark was; when sit at bar maybe not put feet under bar. maybe more snake.
so this morning, to work we went, with a stick and a flashlight and that was most likely the most scary job i ever did, but in the end:
there was no snake under the bar- not anymore but we found the shedded skin of a beastly specimen that must have been at least 5 meters long. aww god only knows how long it roosted there! (as the life snake i saw was only about two meters- or less, it seems i did not live with one but two cobras for i do not know how long). on second thought there have been no rats around for quite a`while....( rats, they tend to move when there are snakes around)
 pity we did not get to kill the spitting cobra: i always wanted a pair of snake skin flip flops!!