See Spot Slither

Randi accompanied Lisa M to Ebetts Field, a large athletic field and garden owned by the US Embassy.  Lisa wanted to check out the garden, which is used for a Boy Scout project.  When they reached the brick walkway, which winds through raised bed plots, Lisa suggested that they stomp their feet, to scatter the snakes.

Lisa's husband, Bruce, believes that the completion of the Corniche (the road that runs along the coast from the Almadies into Dakar, completed in advance of a big international conference last year) reduced our local population of spitting cobras and black mombas.  The construction cut back much of the underbrush, where the snakes tend to hang out.

Let's play a little free association:  I say a word or phrase, you say the first thing that comes to mind.  Okay, here goes:

Number one:  Spitting cobra . . .

Number two:  Black momba . . . one of the most dangerous and feared snakes;  the largest venomous snake in Africa, and reputed to be the fastest snake, clocked up to 12 mph.

Randi and I went for a walk along the Corniche past Ebbets Field today.  Interesting how the experience of going for a walk changes once you've got the image of a hooded serpent locked in your imagination, something like swimming while humming the theme to Jaws.