Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sunday - Black snake in yard

Sunday I looked out the window to see a four foot black snake winding through the yard.  Of course I had to go out and investigate.  In almost twelve years of living here I have never seen a snake so a big black snake is big news around here.

When I first approached he kinked his muscles up and stayed motionless like a tree root.  I touched his tail to let him know I could see him and he instantly coiled up like he was ready to strike.  I walked back and forth in front of him for a bit and he gradually relaxed and started to climb the maple tree.  The way he climbed that tree was amazing --like he was crawling on flat ground.  He slithered right up the side of the trunk with no hesitation or struggle.

I followed him for a while as he made his ascent until he disappeared in the foliage.  Later we saw him come down the tree and slither away in the grass.  I will keep an eye out for him when I cut the lawn, but my guess is that if there is no prey for him, he will move on to greener pastures.













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5 comments:

Gary's third pottery blog said...

holy cats, you touched it????? eeek!

jbf said...

Sure, I wanted to see what he would do if he knew I saw him --and he did exactly what I expected. Not too long ago I would have picked him up, but even a non-venomous snake bite can be painful. With age (hopefully) comes wisdom. :8^)

Max said...

I have seen two this year in the yard one almost as big as this one. The second my cat and I spotted across our drive. The cat chased it under the wood deck...going to be interesting during the summer if he comes out at the "wrong" time in front of the wrong people!.

Nice video by the way, enjoyed it, kind of: )

jbf said...

I find them fascinating but my wife has a deep-seated fear of snakes and won't look at my photos lest she have nightmares.

Becky said...

Love the video! May this fellow live long and prosper.