When a snake asks for some space…

…How seriously you take the request depends on what it’s carrying on its tail. Speciesist? I think not!

It was eight in the morning and I was already sweating. It’s gonna be another heat wave day: I visited D&L’s strawbale-and-earthbag extravaganza yesterday where it was 71^o inside and I said, “I hate you guys so much.” Seriously thinking of taking a book to Ian’s place and spending the afternoon there.

(ahem) Anyway. I’m walking along one of my beaten paths to collect my trail camera to move it to another site that’s been getting some interesting scat. I typically try to locate the camera along trails but this spot has been a bust. And I’m minding my own business when I come upon a little snake that has stretched itself across the trail to warm up from the cool night. Its tail is quite small and kind of in shade and I don’t have my middle-distance glasses (Yes, I’m old. Bite me. Or rather, please don’t bite me little snake) so I can’t tell if that’s pattern or rattles on the end. The question being important to whether I step over the snake or give it the path and go around*.

I didn’t notice until I brought the camera home and looked at the mem card that I was playing this out on digital media…

In the end I walked around anyway because why not, rendering the whole examination kind of moot. But it’s likely to be one of those days where this was the most interesting thing to happen anyway so whatever. I’ve got nothing against baby snakes doing baby snake things, as long as they’re not doing it on my porch.

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*In hindsight the shape of the head pretty clearly labeled the snake non-poisonous but I was fixated on the tail as usual.