We took Darcy for a walk a few days ago and saw this large and beautiful gopher snake on the road. We don't normally see snakes this large. It was about two and a half feet long.
What's funny is Darcy walked right past it without noticing – I'm guessing he thought it was a stick – and when Don and I scooted the snake off the road so it wouldn't get run over, the dog leaped back in surprise and astonishment. The stick moved on its own!
For a day or two afterward, Darcy regarded any sticks on the road with caution. Can't be too careful about those moving sticks.
When I lived in Utah, I saw them a lot,they get really big and are very docile, if you pick em up gently ,from the back,and after a few minutes they are really tame they get huffy for a minute and then they chill. Rarely do they bite, and usually only at first .
ReplyDeleteI'm with Darcy on this one. We have Garter snakes around here, I have gotten to the point in the past where I thought I would black out upon seeing one cross my path. Now that I am in a rural area I am still startled but not to the point of blacking out. I call that an improvement. I of course don't want to hurt them and so don't wish their demise. One time our cat brought in a young snake to deposit near me in the kitchen, my scream was so loud our son thought that his dad had dropped dead in the field. They really give me the heebie jeebies.
ReplyDeleteI am a little further south. During the last 20 years, I have walked over some type of snake, twice. Never figured out what, probably rat snake. Avoided a copperhead while I was walking up my driveway (and sent my husband back for it). Kept an eye on the snake in duck pen (about 6', don't remember what kind, luckily ducks were in pond) while my husband went to get the shotgun.
ReplyDeleteThe funniest however was a couple of years ago while walking my dog. Didn't see what she was looking at but found out when a black snake turned around and hightailed it.
The thing here is don't run from a black snake, because they will chase you. But you don't need to kill them. The funny thing...my dog bumped noses with it when she was smelling. Guess the snake wasn't interested in chasing something that wasn't moving.
kathy in MS
Wow. I had a gopher snake as a pet many many years ago. So docile. His name was Dante. Lived 20 yrs or so. You're lucky to have seen one!
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