Look what we found in our garage today!
No, not me! A garter snake. I had never caught a snake before, so I wore gloves so I wouldn't be worried about getting bitten. Next time I won't bother with gloves. Garter snakes aren't venomous, and this one wasn't at all interested in striking me.
But she moved fast and I didn't want to drop her!
I really love snakes. If you look in my sidebar, and haven't been reading my blog for a while, you'll see that i illustrated a kids' book on a rattlesnake named Katie.
Macro shot! Too bad there's a cobweb on her face.
Gordon was brave!
After we admired her for awhile...
...then I released her near some rocks in our garden.
As you can see, I don't have a snake phobia. Like honeybees, I think they're very misunderstood. And it feels really cool when they twine themselves around your arm.
Going back to my snake-less garage to extract more honey!
She's a beautiful snake. Too many people get so panicky over a little harmless snake and just whack the life out of them : ( I'm glad you don't : )
ReplyDeleteNever never never! I am a friend to snakes. :) I think they are absolutely amazing.
DeleteMy older son needed a mother like you. I couldn't look at snakes. He felt in love at 7, visiting the Snake House in Houston, Texas. He begged desperately to have a pet snake. But I had nightmares thinking about it. We got him some chameleons instead. In Houston, there were dangerous snakes around. When the kids played in the yard, I had to go first, with a stick, to check the grass. But I never could have killed a snake.
ReplyDeleteClaude, my Mum was terrified of snakes her entire life. But in the months before she died, I got her to hold a harmless one and she thought it was quite wonderful. I'm glad she overcame her fear. :)
DeleteSo cool. We caught a garter snake when my son was 11 or 12; kept it in a tank with a very secure cover, but it only took about a week before it escaped. We found it later in the garden. Caught it again. Same thing happened. So we gave up and decided to let nature be nature. We caught a big box turtle, too, but that's a different story.
ReplyDeleteStill and all ... might not be a bad idea to keep wearing gloves, just in case the next one turns out to be a different variety!
AMazing that it kept managing to escape!
DeleteOh, she's a cutie! We usually have lots of snakes here...garter, Eastern fox snake and smooth green snake..but this year we have had fewer than ever. I hope it is just the weather and not something more sinister going on
ReplyDeleteJane x
I sure hope it's nothing sinister!! I never seem to see anything but garter snakes but maybe I just need to pay more attention to them.
DeleteLovely! I remember catching them as a kid. Snakes are amazing, I think.
ReplyDeleteAren't they just? :)
DeleteI can tolerate snakes singly, but once on a nature walk in the spring I came upon a pasture full of stumps. Every single stump had mounds of writhing garter snakes in rut. It was so incredibly shocking I couldn't run away fast enough!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be shocked too if I saw a stump full of writhing snakes!
DeleteWhat a beutiful snake !
ReplyDeleteMy "mom" and "dad" arn´t afraid of snakes either :)
10 years ago they had 2 Boa´s , they where over 2 meters long.
Wow, that's so cool!!
DeleteThese critters are very important for the whole ecosystem for the things they do. They have to improve on their image.
ReplyDeleteYes I like snakes too. I pick them up with out gloves.
I need to practice my snake-catching technique so I can go gloveless too.
DeleteSuch a cute little snake. I used to have one little Ring Snake as a pet, but he ran away from his tank, and ended up in neighbor's yard. They were so freaked out, we had to convince them what they saw couldn't possibly be a snake, lol... We didn't want them to harm my cute little baby. He never came back home, and nobody saw him again.
ReplyDeletePoor little ring snake! And that's two escaped snakes in the comments section so far. Wily little creatures!
DeleteWell I seem to be in a minority here; I can't stand snakes. Luckily I haven't seen any this year. They frighten the bejeezus out of me. No thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to train Owl Wood to like honeybees. Maybe I can convince you to like snakes! :)
DeleteThat is one beautiful little snake. I am afraid of them, to be completely honest, but thanks to Steve Irwin and his passion, I discovered their beauty and I can even hold one without fainting. I would never ever kill one.
ReplyDeleteSteve Irwin was always so enthused about animals. He did a lot of good. I'm glad you overcame your fear and held one.
DeleteI don't like snakes one bit and I don't know why not except that my mother was terrified of them.I think it is because they don't make any noise so you don't know they are there. Great pictures though of all of you. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteIt seems a lot of people have a deep fear of snakes!
DeleteI used to catch those all the time. Now I do not see them around as much. They are pretty friendly.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have a lot around the farm. They especially love my veggie garden. Next time I'm going gloveless!
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