Wednesday, April 26, 2023

An Intricate Beauty


It caught my eye, the shed skin waving in the breeze.


We've has a resident blacksnake (possibly several) for years and they are most welcome as they are known to eat copperheads. He/she/they often shed their skins in or near the greenhouse. This one facilitated its skin shed by working its way under the eaves of the greenhouse--where it may be now. The current chilly weather likely has it curled up somewhere warm.


I love seeing the individual scales--if the head portion were visible, the eye scales would likely be intact. But if I tried to pull it down, it would just tear. So, I'll leave it to flutter in the breeze. Long may it wave. Copperheads, beware!
 

 

5 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

That seems like a big specimen.

Sandra Parshall said...

That's a big one. Snakes have such cool, clean skin. I would try to hold a poisonous snake, but the harmless ones are fun to handle. I don't know why some people think they're slimy. They're the opposite. And it's fascinating to watch a snake climb a tree or post without the benefit of feet!

JJM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JJM said...

I miss "Jack", the black snake who'd somehow find his way inside my house from time to time and set up residence in my kitchen. We'd worked out a mutually satisfactory modus vivendi whereby I'd allow him shelter but otherwise leave him in peace, and he'd deal with any mice he found and depart as silently as he came, leaving his skin behind him by way of parting gift. Oh, and I stipulated that under no circumstances would he ever just pop up out of a drawer and nigh give me a heart attack.

Alas, in the course of general repairs to the house, the workers apparently blocked Jack's entrance. I never saw him again. I hope he is well.

katy gilmore said...

Beautiful!