I debated about sharing our latest wildlife encounter, however…the pictures are cool and I’m a science geek, so how can I not! So….if you don’t care for creepy crawly things, please do not read the full article. You’ve been warned!
“May I move into your nice warm house, pleasssssssse?”
This is a garter snake, and he isn’t very big. Although he is the biggest I’ve seen this fall. We’ve been taking apart a stone wall, and there have been several little ones (think pipe cleaner size) in there, much to the delight of the children. (We are kind to them, and let them go after brief observation.) This one was lurking on the back patio near the doors, and I nearly stepped on him. Fortunately, my camera was already in hand, so I shot him. (With the camera, silly!) I love his smile….although it is easier to see in the full sized picture.
I couldn’t get back into the house without moving him, and as soon as I picked him up, he started smelling like crazy (they smell with their tongues). So I needed some pictures of that!
It was pretty chilly out, so this guy was slow moving. After being in my sweatshirt wrapped hand (is it silly to protect a cold blooded snake from my cold hand?) for a couple of shots, he’d had enough, and I let him slither off into the retaining blocks in the back yard.
My sons do all of our snake catching. I can handle spiders and other things, but not snakes. You can have used mr. snake for science. My cat used to catch snakes and bring them home. EWWW