On Tuesday, I opened the front door
to check for mail and saw what Handsome is now calling--gifts from Amazon. I picked the up and stuck in the corner was a snake. Snake! Yikes!!! Except he really wasn't twenty feet long with sharp flesh-eating fangs. He was this:
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The rough earth snake is found from southern Virginia to northern Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to southern Texas, and north into south-central Missouri and southeastern Kansas. is a small, harmless, secretive, fairly slender snake, 7-10 inches. Hides beneath logs, rocks, or ornamental stones, in leaf litter, or in compost piles and gardens. The species is found in a variety of forested habitats with plenty of ground cover, as well as in many urban areas. It can reach very high densities in urban gardens, parks, and vacant lots.
I am soooo not a snake fan. And I know I'm not alone. Remember, Indiana Jones hates snakes, and if this big tough-ass thinks no-no-no, I'm with him.
In a suburb north of where I live, copperheads are sending residents to the hospitals. My friend who lives a mile-ish away has seen a bobcat in her backyard. Mountain lions are frequenting a neighborhood in Colorado where I visit.
Our staying in place has affected wildlife. Interesting, isn't it?
Are you seeing a change in nature this spring?
Raving Beauty: "I can't believe I let your loony brother, who's tormented me all my life, talk me into this."
With my eye on the teenage competition standing off to one side, I tugged the swimsuit’s leg opening into place to better cover my hip. "Just because I did some modeling in college doesn't make me a pageant diva. Back then, I was incredibly skinny, and clothes fit easily."
"Daniel is a rat. He took advantage of your third, or was it your fourth, margarita, Kelly?" Maggie Ackerman, my best friend and roommate, adjusted the scarlet satin sash draped across my body. Glittery stick-on letters spelled out Miss Yahoo! Ranch Steakhouse. "Don’t worry. You’re beautiful and will be fine. Now, hold still."
I watched her pick my brown hair at the crown of my head with an old-fashioned teasing comb. When the eerie suspicion I resembled a scary dame with Big Texas hair from the television show, “Dallas,” I turned my head to avoid the mirror.
"Close your eyes." She blasted my hair with several short bursts of super freeze-it hairspray. "Now, that ain't goin' nowhere."
Find your happy ever after at: Amazon and KU
13 comments:
Hi Vicki, I go out and check on the gators and have found that snakes are also in the area. I can't tell if they are a banded watersnake or a cottonmouth. I'm not going to get that close to find out but I had a scary incident... I was checking the weeds for the gator and a snake was right in front of me, coiled and ready. I noticed it and took a few steps back giving it room to finally slink off. Husband keeps telling me I'm going to end up hurt because I do sort of come upon the wildlife. At least I wear my boots!
Hi, Melissa! I've seen your wildlife photos and love that you name the gators. lol. The way you think about cottonmouth is the way I feel about coral snakes. I'm not going to get close enough. I'm glad you wear boots. Thanks for stopping by, my friend!
We have a manmade "pond" in our neighborhood and get to see a lot when walking the door. Egrets, Herons, Turtles, and ... Goslings! There's a pair of geese with four babies living along the shore. Love to see their development each day.
Kick the boxes before you pick them up next time! :-)
Best,
Liese
Oops! That's walking the dog--I don't carry a door around.
Liese
Liese, that is the best tip about kicking the boxes. We've also had an abundance of green anoles. We've had to change some landscape and probably disturbed their habitat. Walking the door??? LOL. Somehow, I read as dogs.
Hi Vicki,
I hate snakes. I've heard cats will keep snakes away, a tip from a sister-in-law that lived in Florida. Fun blog.
Mary
M. E. Bakos
Hi Vicki! I have to admit to loving snakes, though I have no desire for any people or pets to have a dangerous encounter with a venomous one. I also can certainly understand the startle response when one doesn't expect to see one! I'm glad that you and it are okay. :)
Melissa, my understanding is that cottonmouths tend to have a black tail even if they have a patterned body, whereas other patterned or colored water snakes do not have the black tail (meaning that on the cottonmouth, the pattern "fades to black" at the tail, while in the others, the pattern does not do so: http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/venomous-look-a-likes/cottonmouth-look-a-likes/cottonmouth.htm). I'm glad you are okay also! As much as I find snakes neat, I would probably sh*t myself if I suddenly found myself upon one I wasn't sure was not a cottonmouth. :D
Hi, Mary! My cats caught the little stuff, and birds, and lizards. Mega hunters. Thank you for commenting. Hugs!
Hi, Emerald! I have a friend who cleaned in her backyard and was bit by a copperhead, a baby one! She went to the hospital for the anti-venom and that cost big bucks. Scared her a lot.
I am not afraid of snakes. They don't bother me. Well, put a rattle on that thing and I'd try to put it over the fence. And I love your Sommerville Days short stories. What a great way to escape if you're trying to avoid snakes ... or you know! Happy Mother's Day, Vicki!
I can only imagine how frightening that would be! I hope she is okay (?). The reason I actually researched snakes in this area (I live in Virginia) two summers ago is because we were trimming some branches in my yard, and I saw an adolescent snake I wasn't sure of the identity of. I worried it was a copperhead. (It was not.) Upon researching the Virginia Herpetological Society website, I discovered that there are something like thirty-six (!) native snake species here, only three of which are venomous. The one I saw had splotches, and I was completely ignorant of how many other types of (non-venomous) snakes in this area also have splotches. It's information I'm glad to have now! Anyway, that is likely much more than you wanted to know about snakes in Virginia.... I again hope your friend is okay and now well.
Hi, Donnell! I am surprised you aren't afraid of snakes. I was the mom who stood outside the reptile section at the zoo. I hope your Mom Day was glorious. ox
I'm glad you know your snakes. I appreciate you telling me too!! My friend is fine. She just won't be using her hand to clear under bushes any more. And neither will I. I moved some old bricks behind the garage last Saturday and very carefully too because of snakes. EEk
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