I was working my way up a steep slope, looking for anything interesting, when I spotted the coiled body of a huge black snake. I had only seen a snake of this size once before, so I proceeded with caution in an attempt not to scare it away.
I chose a low approach and managed to get within a few feet of the snake. It was huge, with a look of age about it. It hadn’t moved since I spotted it, so there must be something holding its attention. I carefully rose up to find the head.
Well, it’s not often you just find a segment of a snake. Apparently my initial assumption of identity had been incorrect.
I was correct about one thing, though. I had indeed seen a snake once before that exactly matched the size of this specimen. In fact, this very piece of pressure hose had years ago fooled me into thinking it was an enormous snake. That event had taken place a hundred yards away on the other side of the hill. What was my snake mimic doing here?
The grass that had been trapped beneath the hose was still green and fresh, so it had not been covered long. I have a feeling that my dog friends have once again been pulling items out of my archaeological sites and scattering them about the prairie. At least this bit of trash hadn’t been chewed to bits.
I released the snake into its preferred habitat. This is where I originally saw it many years ago. Hopefully, it’ll stay put.
I was working my way up a steep slope, looking for anything interesting, when I spotted the coiled body of a huge black snake. I had only seen a snake of this size once before, so I proceeded with caution in an attempt not to scare it away.
I chose a low approach and managed to get within a few feet of the snake. It was huge, with a look of age about it. It hadn’t moved since I spotted it, so there must be something holding its attention. I carefully rose up to find the head.
Well, it’s not often you just find a segment of a snake. Apparently my initial assumption of identity had been incorrect.
I was correct about one thing, though. I had indeed seen a snake once before that exactly matched the size of this specimen. In fact, this very piece of pressure hose had years ago fooled me into thinking it was an enormous snake. That event had taken place a hundred yards away on the other side of the hill. What was my snake mimic doing here?
The grass that had been trapped beneath the hose was still green and fresh, so it had not been covered long. I have a feeling that my dog friends have once again been pulling items out of my archaeological sites and scattering them about the prairie. At least this bit of trash hadn’t been chewed to bits.
I released the snake into its preferred habitat. This is where I originally saw it many years ago. Hopefully, it’ll stay put.
Ha! You got me!
ReplyDeleteHi Jain. You'd be amazed at the number of snakes and turtles I've seen that have turned out to be sticks and rocks.
ReplyDeleteI did get fooled into snaky thoughts by a stick on the road yesterday.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, later I saw a beautiful, glossy (recently shed) 4+ foot black rat snake. It was nearly 80F here, at the time.
Finally, in the last light of the day, I posted this on Facebook, "A few minutes ago, the western sky was beautfully decorated in the colors of a gray-banded king snake, but the colors slithered away."
Hi James. It must be wishful thinking. My mind tries to label long thin things as snakes and short lumpy things as turtles.
ReplyDelete