No snakes where harmed in the making of this post

[Cats Critters]

Today I started to move the carpet and metal sheets around in my one garden to kill off more of the grass, while yanking up what remained. Seeing lots of worms and spiders (part of the reason I miss my hen George, she loved to eat spiders) along the way. About mid way through I find these two:

Which is no big surprise, when ever I'm killing of grass I find them. But what most people think is odd is, I really don't have a problem with snakes. Both my dad and granddad exposed me and my siblings to snakes as children (even with that my sister still hates them) so as long as they are not poisonous and I know they are there I'm fine. These two I picked up and moved out of the garden so that I didn't step on them and moved on with my work. Ended up seeing/moving 10 snakes, some of which were about 3-4 inches long and the biggest was about a foot long (which I didn't move out, he moved too fast for me to catch). But no snakes where harmed and I got some garden work done.

So who else has had snake visitors this year while gardening or other wise?

 

[hennyannie]

Thinking about that scene in FLICKA where the lady is in the garden talking to her snake friend!LOL I think she was calling him Henry! What kind are they? My sister would not have read this post cause it had the word snake in it.

 

[key west chick]

I like snakes too. As long as its not poisonous, Im happy to see them. Growing up we were always catching bugs, lizards and snakes. I miss those days.

 

[teach1rusl]

Like many others, our area has had TONS of rain recently. Our little spring fed lake was overflowing, water gushing over the spillway like Niagara Falls. After having to "rescue" numerous bass getting washed over the spillway and into the field/drainage area, DH put a section of deer netting across the opening to keep them in. Two days later I felt so guilty to find two snakes that had gotten caught in the netting (head through the stretchy netting a few inches under the water) and apparently drowned. Not sure what kind they were, but they weren't WMocs. I hate the thought of an animal drowning

I wish more people understood how beneficial snakes are...
* Nothing cuter than a little greensnake

- and the snake in the 2nd pic is very pretty...

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Caught three so far this year. The first one a couple of weeks ago while mushroom hunting, a little bull snake.

The other two I don't have any pictures of, but one was a HUGE black rat snake trying to get across the highway. I pulled over and took him to the river about 50 yards away from where I found him and let him go on the bank. The third one was just a little baby garter snake. I almost grabbed him when I reached for my turkey call. He slithered away but came back later, and it was a slow day, so I caught him then let him go.

But then again, I have two pet snakes- A ball python named Zeus and a king snake named Fluffy.

 

[halo]

What kind are those 2?

 

[aggie9296]

My guess is ribbon snake for the first one and brown snake for the second.

Here in the FL panhandle, we have tons of snakes. Most are non poisonous, so I let them live. Have had a glass snake (actually a legless lizard), ring neck, several earth snakes, and crowned snakes in the yard in the last year. Have a black racer living under the concrete on my front porch. He pops up sometimes through a crack. At my other house I had a colony of banded water snakes in and around my yard. Last count was 16-18 of them in 8 years. I would catch them and take them to a pond down the street.

We have diamondback and pygmy rattlesnakes but have not had any in my yard. Also, tons of water moccasins, but not in the yard. So far.

I have not decided what I will do if I find a poisonous one. Probably back away slowly and let them live too.

 

[theoldchick]

I was mowing grass for the first time at our new place, and was being very careful of possible rocks or other debris. The Cub Cadet riding mower was rather new, and I was still getting used to having handles to turn the mower. The zero turning radius feature is fabulous for going around trees, and as I grew more confident in my steering skills, I began to relax.

With my eyes focused for possible hazards in front of the mower I was not expecting problems from above me. I felt a branch scrape my favorite orange hat and I reached for the bill to steady it. The mower immediately pulled to the left. I quickly put my hand back on the steering rod and adjusted my course. I put my eyes forward again and kicked lazily at a stick draped across my legs. The stick moved in an odd way and I looked down.

A six foot black snake stared at me with its long body draped across my feet and ankles.. My bladder and bowels lurched in horror. My brain stopped functioning, and I felt the icy grip of primitive fear stop all bodily functions. Even my lungs refused to work. Normally, I'm not afraid of non-poisonous snakes but the way this one introduced itself was alarming. I jerked back on the steering handles and the lawnmower lurched in reverse. I banged into the dog's fence where he barked furiously at the mower. I shove the steering handles forward and the lawnmower shoots forward. I try to swipe the snake off with my left foot. She wraps 2/3 of her body around my right calf. I use my right hand to pinch her tail thinking her discomfort would make her let go. The lawn mover circles to the left and the snake hung on to my leg for dear life.

I grab the steering rod to gain control of the mower. Then I notice Mrs. Snake's head is easing up my leg. I push her back with my left hand. Immediately the mower spins to the right. I thrust my hand back on the knob and gained control of the machine. I put the handles in neutral position and the mower idles as the blades continue to rotate. I pushed the knob down that controls the mowing deck, and the blades jerk to a halt. Then I turn off the mower. As the cooling metal clicked, I stared at the snake. She was still clinging to my leg. The dog stopped barking.

Although my primitive brain was telling me to run like crazy, I managed to sit quietly. The snake was so terrified she wasn't using her tongue to get her bearings. She was very still but I could feel her muscles pushing against my leg as her head rested on my foot.

The snake and I stared at each other. Eventually my higher brain began to function and I started to breath again. I eased off the mower keeping the snake-occupied leg as straight as possible. As soon as I placed my foot in the grass she slid off. She expelled a few ounces of foul smelling fluid along the way.

I didn't blame her, though, and watched her slide through the grass to safety. Then I went into the house to expel some fluids of my own.

 

[aggie9296]

Oh wow! If you could have caught that on camera...

 

[dkvart1]

I know it scared the beejeezers out of you, but it was a very humourous story!

Kinda like the day a spider dropped off the visor in my car onto my bangs. I had just started the car (a stick) and without thinking opened the door to bail, while swatting at my hear. Of course the car lurched forward so I pushed the clutch in although I was still swatting at my hair and trying to exit the car. I simply couldn't think of anything except that darn spider. The car lurched 3 or 4 times as I screamed and tried to keep hopping out of the car. A friend was in the passenger seat, but she was laughing so hard she couldn't see through her tears. She finally reached over and switched the car off at which point I literally fell out of the car onto the pavement. Thanfully there was no car directly in front of me. But the person in the car next to that empty spot was plastered flat against the side of their car, looking quite terrified. I can only imagine what they thought when I croaked the word "spider" at them.

I do like snakes though and won't harm them, although I'm always on the lookout as I don't like being surprised and I'd hate to happen upon a poisionous one.