~Nothing men do surprises me. Some of
'em'are a little rough around the edges.~
~Patricia Calm 1900~
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| Ah, yes...beauty. |
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| This is my first Columbine bloom from the starts I got from my sweet neighbor, Shirley. Her plants have been in her garden for decades. They are all different brilliant colors, so I was surprised to see this totally white one bloom out! |
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| An then there's the beast. |
Well, obviously it's not much of a beast...but snakes always startle me.
Our elm trees always loose branches when we get a good wind goin'. So, I was doin' my normal routine of picking up branches and small sticks before mowing the lawn...when I realized this one that I was walking over to pick up wasn't a stick!
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| "Who me?!? I'm no beast! I'm just enjoying the cool, wet grass where the sprinkler had been. I was findin' all sorts of snacks too!" (I had my aperture set at 5.7 so I think that's why his head didn't come out clear in this photo...and I was zooming in from at least 10 feet.) |
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| Over exposed...yes. But I still like how it enhanced the snake's eye and nostril. |
OK...so does anyone know what kind of snake this is? It was very patient as I went to the house to get the camera, because he was still there when I got back! After about 2-3 minutes he seemed to notice that I was there; threw his head up...and took off like a flash!
Update: I had a comment left on my Flickr photo from Natalie McNear
"Cool find! This is a Western Yellow-bellied Racer, Coluber constrictor mormon. These guys are harmless and feed on a wide variety of prey, from insects to rodents, so they are beneficial to have around the yard."
Thank you Natalie!
I've seen one other of these two years ago. It was on the water spigot on a hot day...when I went to grab for the handle...that gave me a start!!
Have a great week!!
I don't much care for snakes either and in the spring in fall when we pick up sticks and then apples in our orchard, I always happen upon a few :(
ReplyDeleteNot sure what kind it is, but around here we call those "Dead".
ReplyDeleteThey are racer snakes, harmless garden snakes.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind snakes..... but spiders is a whole 'nuther story!
I've never seen a pure white Columbine either. It's quite a beauty. The snake on the other hand... well, snakes just give me the creeps, even if they are harmless. That's a true "snake in the grass"!
ReplyDeleteThe columbine is just beautiful! Such a vivid picture of it! I do like snakes as long as I know they are harmless! I had one around the pond one year and went to pulling some weeds and it come slithering out of the edge of the pond tank and about scared the pants off of me!
ReplyDeleteHey, believe or not we found one of these in Portland's Waterfront Park the first day of the Blues Festival. The lady who found him took him down to the river and away from the human invasion. Amazing he was still there as it was about three or four hours after the Festival had started.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful flower! I guess as long as that snake doesn't bother Cindy Sue it can stay.
ReplyDeletelol I know this is illegal - but I would love to come and put your racers in a garbage can and bring them home - they eat baby prairie rattlers! Yay racers!!!
ReplyDeleteWe have garden snakes and green snakes and water snakes that look like the poisonous 'water moccasin', and we have rattlers.
ReplyDeleteBut no matter how prepared I am ... I am a bit startled by the snakes.
However the flower is a beauty by contrast!