Sunday, April 22, 2007

Speaking of snakes....


There was a shrill screaming as I came around the bend. On top of the screaming, I heard shouting. Two young girls flew past me with their hands clapped over their mouths.

“Huh! Must have been a snake.” I mused.

When I got closer, I saw a cluster of people looking down. There were about 12-15 garter snakes heaped together in the leaf litter next to the entrance to the boardwalk. There was what appeared to be a leader/teacher talking about the snakes. The rest of the class/group seemed interested. I sidled up and fired off a few shots.

Why are people afraid of snakes? Is it something primordial? Is it that some of them are poisonous? Is it that they are not cute? Or that they creep on the ground? This is not the first time of have seen this behavior but I am still puzzled.

Snakes don’t bother me. I have had large black snakes at my house lounging on the rock walls. I have even had them soaking up the sun on the front stoop. A few years ago, I had to cut several of them out of the deer netting that I had strewn about the yard. I ended up pulling off the netting because it broke my heart to have them all twisted up in it. So when you come over in the summer, look before you step, you never know.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

As long as I know they are not poisonous I love snakes. I wish I could have seen this . Great shot.