Perhaps you'll want to reconsider your visit...
Snake!
He is just under 5 feet long and I first saw him basking atop the landscape timber. My camera was in my pocket so I ran down the stairs to get a good shot. Dave warned me not too get to close...as if!
I followed him into the weeds on the hill and thus endeth my wildflower forays into the woods.
Lots of good things are happening around Chez Johnson, just click on the iris in the sidebar for a slideshow.
It's a Black Snake--not venomous, will bite, keeps bad snakes :( away :). I had one in when I lived in SW VA slither up the side of the house and devour a nest of birds under the eaves!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGive him a name and he'll be your pet. Then you'll like him. :-D
ReplyDeleteTwinnie Susan
I think the black snake should get a name!! He will keep the icky mice away - which is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteWow! I think I would have had a heart attack. That is one big snake. Watch your pets.
ReplyDeleteSeems that your Garden of Eden is now complete!
ReplyDelete:-D eirdre
Black snakes are good snakes - beneficial to the gardener. This guy will keep rodents away. Your garden is really looking nice, btw.
ReplyDeleteEllen.
I saw one just like it in my back yard last Sunday. I looked down and it was a foot away. It literally scared the pee out of me.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise with the frog buffet close at hand. He'll be sunning on those railroad ties on a regular basis. Get used to him.
ReplyDeleteUpdate...I just had to know.
ReplyDeleteHe's the fourth link from the top.
http://www.ngaherps.com/page21.html
I hazard a guess that he is close to
skin shedding time too. Those are fun
to find!
I don't care if they do keep the mice away....yuck!
ReplyDeleteAt this stage, I'd rather have the mice! My gardening days would be over in a twinkle!
ReplyDeleteGood, now you will get back to painting or quilting..LOL..
Her name should be Blackie and she's a good guy-she might eat whatever was previously eating your plants. She almost looks like Nessie in that 2nd photo.
ReplyDeleteLois
Ah, welcome to country living in the South! We get a lot of these big boys. Our first day at our new home, a black snake jumped out of the flower pot we had sitting in the driveway. Since then, they have jumped out of our bird feeder, compost pile, camper, and many other undesirable places. Yes, I know, they eat mice, but I just don't want to share my living space with them. Solution: have a shovel handy for them to wrap around and then run them down to the woods. Or, have a shovel handy to , uh, you know....
ReplyDeleteHi Melody,
ReplyDeleteIt's a black racer snake. They are non venomous. Here in FL we grow them big. First time I ever saw one it scared the you know what out of me. They usually take off when they feel threatened. However, smetimes they will curl up. They also make a rattle noise that sounds eerily like a rattle snake. They are really good to have around though they can be startling. They eat the anoles mice, citrus tree rats, and all kinds of unwanted garden pests. If you just make a little noise, I stomp my feet, when approaching you will mostly see them run.
Cheers,
Donna in FL
donatelloh at hot mail dot com
On the other hand, scared as I would be and with thoughts of ending all gardening activities, it seems like you called upon the universe about those pests bugging your plants and the universe sent you help.
ReplyDeleteSo maybe, just maybe, you could embrace that snake....just a bit...put bells on your shoes and on your cat.
Definitely a name. He or she needs a name. And no, I am not suggesting you check the snake to find out if it's a he or a she. I'm not afraid of them but I would not know how to tell (short of seeing it lay eggs). So an ambiguous sort of name....How about Fred??
ReplyDeleteteri
Ummm, if I saw that creature on my property, I would have called U-Haul and been packed and gone in 30 minutes or less (LOL). I am deathly afraid of snakes -- I scream when I see small garter snakes. You are brave so actually take pictures.
ReplyDelete