Snakes and Me

Some of you got worried when I described my encounters with not one, but two, juvenile rattlesnakes that had somehow made their way into my house. 

I don't blame you, I was worried too and still have not been able to figure out how they got in. 

Other than that, I have a good relationship with snakes. I know their habits here. Because they don't tolerate heat, you have to watch for them mostly in April and May and then in the fall as the summer heat subsides. 

I'm not outside, walking around at night, so I don't have to worry about them then during their active time.

Even so, sometimes snakes like to snooze in the sun or rest in a shady spot, so all summer long, I scan the ground that I plan to walk, it's a habit now and I don't even think about it. And I always check the dog yard in the evenings and early mornings as I let the dogs out.

While I would love to be a really good photographer, I have a good eye, but not the patience. To me, this is one of my best nature photographs. Even if you don't like snakes, I hope you can see it's beauty. It is a Northern Pacific rattlesnake, common in this area.

Unless you step on them, rattlesnakes are really good at taking care of themselves, saving their venom for their dinners, and taking care of you as well, but using their rattles to warn you off. If you heed their warnings, nothing bad will happen to you. 

Below, are a couple of pictures of me handling Rachael's constrictor snakes, the first is a Ball python. 

The second is a Gopher snake. At the time of my visit, in the winter, it was the most alert of her snakes

Rachael's snakes are some of the animals she rescued from the Donkey rescue under dire circumstances. But that's another story and not a fun one, so I will leave it at that. Good thing is that Rachael will care for these snakes for as long as they live.