Sunday, September 13, 2009



King Snake!
What a treat to see as we were out on a walk at the Lafayette Reservoir. I've seen one in a battle with a Diamond Back Rattle Snake - usually the King Snake wins. The King Snakes are getting scare around here - as are the tarantulas, tarantula wasps, horned toad lizards and velvet ants... all creatures I used to spot often as a kid. I miss those days.

18 comments:

Doug The Una said...

We still have all that here. Except, officially, the King Snake.

Tom & Icy said...

Are you in Calf. or Iceland now?

tsduff said...

Doug - no need to brag.

Tom & Icy - hmmm - scratches head... I think it's California today :D though I wish it was still Iceland. Iceland has no snakes (other than those illegally imported).

DJ Kirkby said...

Oooh scary. I only ever saw Garter snakes when I was a kid and think myself lucky for it.

SOe said...

That´s some dangerous place! I will stay in Iceland! ;-)

Ariel the Thief said...

Wow! Cool! He looks somewhat scared, though. Being spotted is a lot less fun when you are a creature without poison teeth. :)

It'd be funny to bring in venomous snakes and other creatures in Fairyland. "You spotted a coral snake and got bitten, you have 5 minutes to find a friend and get the wound sucked out."

javajazz said...

wow, that's a beautiful snake!
cool pattern...reminds me of
the zebra i saw at the zoo this
year on my birthday...
i like how snakes feel...
(is that wrong?)
well, its just that
we went saw some show once
where they showed off
all these different kinds of snakes
from teeny to the onces you could
wrap around your neck like a scarf,
and i thought they felt really beautiful,
and they were kind of dry,
not slimy as i expected them to be...
and i liked how the scales moved...
anyway, so i wouldnt have a pet snake
but there sure are some pretty ones...

the walking man said...

And we place another mark in the climate and environment habitat change column. sad.

Dr.John said...

It is sad that we are losing things like that snake.

Lindsey said...

I can't see a snake without thinking of the Crocodile Hunter. Damn I miss that fella!

Jamie Dawn said...

Pretty pattern on that snake. I like seeing it in a photo rather than in real life. Snakes give me the willies.
My Gramillo told a story to me many times about her being asleep in the cabin they had with my dad as a baby lying with her in bed. She awoke to see a King snake crawling over them in bed. She stayed still until it crawled off the bed, then she jumped up and went nuts. My Grandpa took care of getting the snake out of there. King snakes are good snakes, but you don't want one crawling over your bed!!!!!

lime said...

we don't have that species around here so i am glad you showed us! i like snakes.

laughingwolf said...

i'm with you, terry, so many critters have been decimated :(

Fred said...

I see a snake, I run.

tsduff said...

DJKirkby - I do enjoy snakes - and consider myself lucky to have spotted this one! King snakes are so neat - and not frequently seen anymore around here. If it was a roach, now that would be something entirely different - aauuuughhhhHHH!!!

SOe - No snakes on the rock - but you do have mink.

Ariel - I LOVE your idea!! Rattle snakes, copperheads and water moccasins would do the trick!

JJ - Snakes are quite interesting - as you said smooth and very strong. I like snakes and lizards, and love to watch them do what they do (Bluebelly lizards like to run around and catch flies). I wouldn't have a snake as a pet because I don't particular enjoy feeding them mice and cleaning up after them (salmonella prone). The occasional glimpse of them in their natural home is much more fun.

Walking Man - You hit that nail on the head. Yes,it is horribly sad to understand that some of the earth's creatures are going, going, gone.

Dr. John - It is a tragedy to the world that some of its critters are vanishing forever.

Awe Lindsey - That is a sad memory as well :(

Jamie Dawn - LOL at your story - (Gramillo? Cool title) Though I do like snakes, I must admit I would be a be rattled to find on crawling across my occupied bed!

Lime - It was a thrill that day to see the King snake near the end of our walk. Made my day in fact. What kind of snakes do you have around your place?

Laughingwolf: There is nothing good at all about losing a species. It hurts us all.

Fred - You make me laugh. Are you still there? Hey, wait!

yellowdoggranny said...

wow..i always thought the king snake was so beautiful...

The Crow said...

I'm not a snake-loving person, but -- gosh, what a beauty.

:)

dandjschoch said...

Trivia fact, the velvet ants are actually wasps, or at least so I have been told. I haven't seen a horn toad since I was about ten. Sigh! Too many houses now.