Even if you're freaked out by snakes, I hope you can appreciate the sinuous beauty of these curves. If not, you may want to leave now...
This beauty is a harmless (unless you're a rodent or a frog or another snake) black snake (or black rat snake.) It had quite recently shed its skin in our green house (below).
Evidently it had gone out for a bite (note the bulge against the wood in the first picture) and then decided to return to the green house, via the handy hole in the screen in the lower right hand window.
She looked and looked -- you could almost hear her saying 'I just came out this way -- where's that dratted hole gone?'
'It was right here, I swear it was!'
Finally, she gave up and headed for the irises below.
Slowly and reluctantly...
'What're you looking at, punk?'
23 comments:
Somehow I don't see me hanging around long enough to identify a snake that large. You could probably find me by the trail of pee I would leave, as I vamoosed!
A beautiful snake. Unless she has an email account, maybe she wasn't headed for the computer room?
Oh, wait. You have a mouse by your computer? Well, snake, mouse, maybe she was headed for the computer.
Looks like a good sized black snake Vicki, and you sure got some amazing pictures of her.
We had one once that was determined it wanted to live in the house. Heaven only knows why, but it persisted, so my husband took her quite aways away from the house to a place he thought she would be happy, and twice she just about beat him back to the house! We laughed about that because in those days he could move pretty fast! We had an old storage building and introduced her to that, and that is where she stayed for quite a while.
A beautiful looking creature. The final shot in the sequence is perfect.
You're very brave Vicki. Rather you than me I have to say! The snake is very beautiful and your pictures of it are marvellous. I hope she finds a nice place to sleep - well away from you house and greenhouse!
Way cool that you were able to capture all of this. It's like reading a short story with photos, (A bit scary short story if you didn't know it was a harmless black snake however.)
Sam
Enjoyed this! My last trip to the NC Aquarium, I got to touch a king snake. I'd never been that close to a snake before. Your commentary, of course, makes the photos that much better!
Beautiful!
wow that is a pretty good size one too...i can def appreciate the beauty in them...just dont want them to curl up in bed with me...
I would love to be able to watch a nice easy peaceful snake for a while as you did. I have never been frightened of them . . . good thing I don't often go where dangerous ones are . . . I wouldn't be smart enough to get away.
I love snakes, love them. These snakes can rattle. I once was walking in the fall and heard the ominous rattle, rattle in leaves. It was a rat snake, in that fierce defensive pose, rattling the tip of its tail in the leaves! I said, "Oh, hush! You didn't scare me." But I was lying.
Jeepers! I think that I agree with Sam. Perhaps the last time I saw a snake close up was in Girl Scout Camp back in the 1950's. That sighting will do nicely.
xo
She's beautiful....thanks for sharing.
She is a beauty. Love the series of pictures. Not many snakes around here now with the cats dogs and sheep, but used to have several large black snakes. We had a tiny garden type snake fall out of the ceiling at work the other day. You would have thought the world ended, but at least they let me scoop it up in a box and take it outside!
Tammy
Ok- I can't stand it. EEEEKKK!
I'm afraid I would be just like Ms. A, although I am trying very hard to not over react when I see the good guys.Your pictures are beautiful, as always.
I can't believe how long that snake is. I'm glad we're not forced to be so familiar with them over here.
We have a number of big black snakes around our place and of course where there's big-uns there's bound to be little-uns. Even so it's hard to go a winter without finding a family of mice on holiday in our kitchen.
sorry...just can't appreciate the beauty...my skin is still crawling!
A beautiful rat snake! Treasure her (him?) and protect her (him?). She (he?) will earn her (his?) keep with interest! Jim
She's SO gorgeous...I feel bad for her losing her home!
Great photo essay on this snake.
YOu touched the snake. I know the feel of a snake around my neck. When I was a kid, my brother, in an effort to frighten me, threw a rat snake toward me and it wrapped perfectly around my neck. I'll never forget the feel of it. Snakes scare me. Even black snakes, good snakes, send shivers up my spine.
I feel like an ass. My house keeper freaked because we found one of these under the house. I tried to kill it, but thank god I didn't. This is the exact type of snake we saw. I am glad it out smarted me and got away.
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