A Close Encounter of the Reptilian Kind

I’ve heard they’re on the move…April is the month that it is finally warm enough that we see snakes moving around out there. It’s still cool in the mornings so they are slow to get started, probably lurking about while they look for a sunny spot, or someplace with residual warmth to heat their bodies.


A sunny rock, perhaps, or a woodpile that is still waiting to get organized. Last weekend we walked around the yard with Mickey, planning some projects – one of which is to move the pile of pine back into the wooded lots, where I want to use the logs to line the path.

While we were out on the tour, we found this shed from a large black rat snake. If you’re going to have snakes, these are the ones you want – they are not venomous and actually keep the others away…by eating them. So I am always relieved when I find a shed from one of them, as opposed to a copperhead, say, or a timber rattler!

Here’s a post from a past April encounter with a black rat snake: http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2008/04/snake-in-laundry.html