Another Day, Another Snake

Can you see the snake in this picture? Neither can I, which can turn into a deadly misfortune for someone not paying close enough attention, or for a curious kitten, dog or horse. Nor could I see the bugger while straddling a fence less than five feet away trying to take the picture. It was only when I uploaded the picture and zoomed in a bit that I was able to see it--sort of. Hint: The dark object left of center is not the snake. The snake is actually all around the dark space.





Fortunately for Pat, he saw the creature before stepping too close. Pat was on the backside of the corral in an area that was used by the previous owner as a dumping ground for unused wood and fence posts. Cleaning it out and mowing down the high growth will become a fall project (once the snakes are well on there way for the winter). In the meantime, Pat needed to replace the fence that was removed when Shadow became trapped a few weeks ago. That was where Pat was when he encountered the beast.

Pat said that the snake apparently had been on the move when it saw Pat walking through the dense grass and weeds and stopped in the fully stretched out position. Pat only glimpsed the movement before the snake stopped, and he, too, stopped. He stayed still while looking around wondering what had caught his eye. Then his eyes sharpened enough to see the snake only two feet away looking right back at him.
Since the snake was stretched out he had no effective striking power. It is within the coils that they possess the energy to strike up to six feet depending on their length and strength. Knowing this, Pat walked around giving the snake a wide berth before hopping onto the fence and calling for me to bring the gun and shot. While he waited, he closed up the barn keeping the cats safe until the crisis passed. The horses were out to pasture and the dogs were safely inside the house. For now, all is well--all except the snake, that is.