Applesauce & Ball Python

APPLES got finished off today. I made up 2 gallons of unsweetened applesauce, after putting it through the Foley mill, I canned the first batch as plain unsweetened applesauce and the second with a ton of fresh grated ginger and a scoop of Succanat.

YIELD:
Unsweetened applesauce
5 - 16 oz
2 - 8 oz

Ginger applesauce
4 - 16 oz
2 - 8 oz


PYTHON: This evening, there is an extra heartbeat in my home. After my friend Jon and I walked back from dinner on Piedmont, we rounded the corner from 40th toward past Mama's Royal on Broadway to the sight of a man and woman looking at the sidwalk, or wall, or something. "What kind of snake is that?" the man asked. "It can't be anything bad, maybe a king snake." I looked closer -- "It's a ball python!" I knelt to get a photo and a closer look -- I could feel the heat from the brick wall that attracted this large, beautiful snake but the smell of urine was dreadful (there is a gap between building and retaining wall where patron's of the the corner bar avail themselves). Jon tried to pick up the snake but she turned her head under her body quickly, so I reached down and picked her up just as FOUR Oakland Police cruisers pulled up.

Apparently, the bartender had called the police. I stepped toward them and offered the snake, curled around my left arm, for examination. Did you ever see four cops levitate backward 5 feet? I did.

I decided to bring her home, put her away safely and find her owner on craigslist. I will put a note up on some posts in the neighborhood, too. She clearly is a man's snake - she liked Jon's big hairy arm better than mine, and she gave him her throat to stroke but freaked out when I tried the same thing. The kitties have varying reactions - Dobs is a bit scared, George is curious, and Carmine is completely noninterested. Snake is safely in a large kennel with some tissue and a water dish, a heating pad on medium under one end of the cage. I left a message with the East Bay Vivarium and hope to find her owner soon -- I know I'd be freaking out if I couldn't find my 4.5' long ghost ball python.