Sunday Special - Two Seconds of Luck

{Warning! This post contains images which may frighten anyone who is is scared of slitherin'.}

{This of course is not a slitherin' but the fourth 'Gift' in our family, Luke the Frankendog}

This is the tale of a two seconds of pure luck.
It all began with a head snapping double take.
I was moving from my office to the downstairs entertainment room when my eye was caught by what I thought was our dog Luke in the nextdoor neighbour's yard.

We live on acreage but with very open fencing [read here posts and two wire runners top and bottom], which isn't a problem as Luke is exceptionally well trained and only leaves the perimeter of the house when he accompanies me on his twice-daily walks.
The animal that I'd spied was in fact a mini-pony. Our neighbours must have just acquired her as she was happily munching away in their front yard.

I'm sure that you can see why I was so surprised.
Same colour.
Same boofy head.
Same thickset body.
Same short legs.
....well the tail may be a little longer, but I hope you get my drift. Still need some convincing?

Here's Luke...

The new neighbour...

Luke bored, leaving the story...

Fascinated, I wanted to investigate closer and grabbed my camera thinking I would try and get a shot with Luke and the new neighbour together to share with you.

Moving from the downstairs entertaining area, I was about to proceed past the hedge that surrounds the lower half of our house when I was stopped by a movement in front of me....

I froze.
Swore.
Then the adrenalin kicked in and I unfroze, called Luke, secured him away from the slitherin' then ran to the upstairs verandah so that I could take this photo.
Seriously these guys give me the heebies and I was very close to stepping on it [my third close encounter in as many months].  The first I wrote about here, the second happened when I was cleaning out our back shed.
That time I only got to see a recently shed skin and some poop beneath a box I had just moved.

Back to the story...I took a few more photos to help Captain V and I identify it {I'm actually at a bit of a loss even after looking at our local 'Snakecatcher's' website}...

{I'm secretly loving the zoom on my camera Nikon Coolpix P80 - there's no way I would get a photo this close to a snake without a zoom lens!}

...after snapping away for a minute or two, it slithered away from the house and I could breathe a sight of relief.  Turning to go inside I saw this....

One of the many kookaburras who live around our yard - snoozing on the job just metres away from the action! Obviously life's good for him at the moment because this guy missed a huge snake steak!

So how about that for lucky?  If I'd been a second or two earlier or if the snake hadn't moved when it did, it may have been an entirely different outcome altogether.

As for the new neighbour and Luke, they have yet to make each others acquaintance.

.................

This post has been included in Happy Homemaker's 'Post of the Month' club. If you're visiting from the blog hop, welcome. This post is a bit of an anomaly as it features one of my least favourite creatures.
If you visit me on most days you will find many more gorgeous things to delight such as snippets of my home, art, things of beauty, wonderful words and fantastic tours of amazing places.
Please stay a while and enjoy the 'gifts of serendipity' that I've gathered here for you.