Recent Visitor

We had a surprise visitor the other day - a 4 1/2 foot snake slithered through our backyard. I was out on the deck with Donna and we noticed our new reptilian friend sunning him (or her!) self at the edge of the yard, so I got my camera and went out into the yard and snapped off a few pictures. I don't think it was a poisonous snake, but who wants to get close enough to be sure, right? The best I can tell, from the safety of my office chair surfing the Internet tonight, our slithery visitor was a Black Racer, aka Coluber Constrictor. This particular species of snake is very common in our part of Georgia.

While some (mainly Eastern) cultures venerate snakes, for most "Westerners," the only good snake is a dead one. It seems that ever since the days of Adam and Eve snakes have been feared, hated, disrespected, and misunderstood. Actually, from what I can gather, snakes do a whole lot of good. They do very little damage to the environment and they keep the rodent and insect (and snake!) populations down. They are also useful in making certain medicines - hey, c'mon, give them a break.

That's what I did with this beauty. I watched him slither all the way across our backyard and watched him disappear in the woods behind the house. In fact, our new friend is probably out there right now....waiting for me... :)