Occasionally, Odd things Appear

When I got in this evening, I could hear that water was still being pumped into the pond, and when I had time to check, it was completely full. As I was walking toward the berm I could see a long, shiny thing in the grass and kept walking toward it thinking it was something of Camron's. As I got to the top of the berm I saw a long, but thin, dark brown to black snake. Since the first thing I look for on any snake is it's head I did the usual scope and both ends were identical, blunt. Then, one end seemed to raise up toward me and lick its lips, the way hungry snakes do, before it either backed up or crawled forward into the pond. The animal was a total mystery and didn't really seem threatening, but it motivated me to mow that area and back to Camron's swing set on the South side of the pond. I tried to locate Camron and show it to him before it went away but when I walked in Bill's house I could immediately tell it wasn't a good time. Camron was obviously being detained for some reason and having an attitude about it. I would never ask why, or actually even care, but I can see a disturbing paradox that springs to life in the child development arena. As they acquire experiences, including success at solving problems or traversing complexities of any form, they (naturally?) begin to require more independence. Camron is 6 years old and he has just spent an entire Summer getting up when he felt like it, then entertaining himself, or spending the day outside and in general taking care of himself. In a single day last week that ended and now someone is telling him to get up, then what to do every hour of the day until someone tells him to go to bed. He was looking forward to school, but I know he was expecting more Kindergarten, not this big bite of the real drudgery of school after Kindergarten. I understand his objecting, but I also understand that he will just have to get over it, and he will by tomorrow. I ignored him today because although he can be amazingly creative and entertaining, he can be equally unpleasant. That isn't something even a mutant snake needs to experience.