History interrupted by nature study

So there we sat, in the living room, reading about the American Revolution from the British perspective (nothing like confusing the littles and causing them to exclaim in dismay, "Wait! Who are the bad guys and the enemies?") when suddenly eldest-son-at-home-during-school-hours jumped to his feet and rushed out the door with a cry of, "It's a snake!"

And the snake hunt was on.

Youngest child wanted desperately to keep the snake. I was almost ready to capitulate. It was some sort of garter or ribbon snake, and it was quite striking looking, what with its reddish pink underbelly extending down to the underside of its tail. But eldest-son-at-home talked us into releasing the snake once it was photographed extensively.

Perhaps I'll post the pictures another day.

History seemed a bit dry after the excitement of the snake capture.