"What kind of snake?"
"I don't know. It was black with white speckles all over its back. It was about that big around." She held her hands up in a circle to demonstrate.
Clara nodded. "A king snake. It's harmless. In fact, it kills poisonous snakes."
Megan made a face. "I hope it continues to do so out of my sight. Are there lots of snakes around here?"
"Some." Clara glanced around. "All this brush right next to the house gives them a place to hide. You need to have someone brush hog it all down."
"Brush hog?"
"Kind of like a mower, only they drag it behind a tractor. It'll get all the brush and even some small trees."
"Even those short trees with the reddish brown things on the top?"
"Sumac."
"What?"
"Those are sumac bushes. Did you know you can make tea from the berries?"
"Is it good?"
Clara shrugged. "I never tasted it." She stepped off the porch and studied the brush. "You could knock most of this stuff down with a weed whip."
"What's that?" Clara must think she was an idiot.
"It's a... Maybe there's one in the shed." She led the way to the old shed. Among other tools, they found one that looked like a hockey puck with a sharp blade. Clara swung it back and forth, clipping the grass off neatly with each stroke. She handed the whip to Megan.
Megan frowned. "I don't know how to use one."
Clara laughed. "You're not gonna learn any younger, that's for sure."
Megan gingerly accepted the tool, gripping the smooth wooden handle with both hands. She took aim on a tall bunch of grass and swung the whip like a bat. The blade came to a jolting halt against the thick clump.
Clara giggled. "Keep trying. You'll grow to it."
But she didn't - even after a dozen exhausting swings. No matter how hard she swung, the whip never managed to do more than maul the grass. She examined her palms, already red and painful from the unaccustomed exercise.
"I'll get some gloves and try it later. Why don't we go into the house for some iced tea? I made some this morning."
In the kitchen they sipped tea and discussed everything from wildlife to house plants. After tea, Clara convinced her to walk around the cabin to look at the vegetation. Clara identified some of the bushes - all the while filling Megan in on the goings on in town. Obviously it was important information to Clara, who knew everyone. Their wanderings finally took them back to the car. As Clara opened the door to climb in, she hesitated.