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Monday, September 29, 2008

Snakes Alive!




Yesterday Nick and the boys took the boat down the creek. I wandered down to sit with them and couldn't find them, or hear them so I figured they were already quite a distance down. I decided to walk along the railroad track, which follows the creek and find them that way. I barely took 10 steps down the track when I was frozen in my own tracks!

This snake appeared to be dead, didn't move at all, even when I tossed a couple of rocks in his direction. He even looked a little flat in spots so I thought maybe he was a casualty from the passing train, even though he still looked pretty good. I wasn't completely convinced that he was a goner so I kept my distance when I thought I noticed his tongue stick out then he slowly started to move and disappeared into a hole under the tracks.

Too scared to move on, I decided to head for the house and do a google search on "Snakes of Virginia" so I could correctly id him. I matched him up to an Eastern Hog Nosed snake which thankfully are not poisonous and according to the description, they don't even bite at all. They do however play dead by sucking in air and flattening themselves out, which explains his flattened appearance when I found him!

30 comments:

  1. When I saw the first pic, I thought he was for sure behind glass in a zoo. You are braver than I am. I would have had to take a picture while going backwards.

    Nice shots.

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  2. That was a fantastic close encounter!

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  3. Oh! I have a snake phobia...and I know some snakes travel in pairs. I would have been afraid to move, trying to see if there were anymore slinking around.

    You were a brave soul, Tanya~~~the snake charmer...

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  4. moi qui est peur quand je vois un orvet ;o))
    I fear that is when I see a blindworm ;o))

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  5. Oh, you were very, very wise to handle that snake as you did! Glad he's not poisonous though.

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  6. Snakes scare me...you were brave for certain!

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  7. Neat blog!

    Thanks for visiting mine!

    :-Daryl

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  8. What a delightful post this one was to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and then was filled with gratitude for your looking it up and reporting on what he was. It reminded me of the opossum here that plays dead when caught or cornered. I am glad it all worked out for you.

    And the photo is nice too.

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  9. snakes near a train! Thanks for your "stale" comments on my blog. Funny!

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  10. Is it poisonous!?!?!?... GLUP!!!..

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  11. I have to admit I'd have been scared stiff! But you managed to have the presence of mind to take a photo and ID him. GOOD for YOU! ;-)

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  12. Hello You !
    Nice text, and pretty photos...See See You later !

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  13. The snakes you need to worry about around here are copperheads, rattlesnakes and some kind of water snake whose name I forget. Most everything else isn't poisonous but I don't like them anyway.

    Also, I may be the only one with this problem but that "weatherbug" thing on your sidebar certainly does mess up my computer when I try to view your blog. It hangs up every time.

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  14. A scary moment. He was more scared of you though! What would we do without the internet to help us out in all sorts of situations?!

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  15. Eek! I've never encountered a snake in the wild before. I think I'd run a mile if I did. But I'd rather a snake than a nasty big spider though *shudders*!!

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  16. That's so interesting. I don't like snakes at all, but I enjoyed your photo story from my nice flat computer monitor. ;-)

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  17. This is good - you've got it at it's best flat angle - glad it wasn't poisious. I quite like snakes. I came upon a snake many, many years ago in a canyon in Hovenweep Nat Mon, in Arizona or Utah. It was a rattler with a squirrels tail sticking out it's mouth. Pretty safe to spot it like that. It was shaking it's rattle, but was harmless at that point.

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  18. Oh my! I would go panic if I ran into a snake!

    The photo is great, though :)

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  19. Most of the snakes around here are poisonous so if I find one lying in the sun in front of me I use a different track!

    I haven't been fortunate enough to have my camera with me at the time so blog my hasn't seen one yet.

    Well done with this shot.

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  20. EWWW!! EWWW!! I HATE SNAKES!!!! You are much braver than me - I'm afraid that I wouldn't have gotten a picture...

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  21. WOW!!! I will be still frozen!! dislike snakes with all my heart, amazing creatures I just dont feel like being in their way!! bbrrr

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  22. snakes are fun to photograph. but I have to have a really long lens. even though I don't have a phobia they still kinda creep me out up close. Nice shots and story.

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  23. Creeeeepy!!!

    Glad he was harmless.

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  24. We don't have wild snakes in New Zealand. If we did I am sure I would be fearful of them too! - Dave

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  25. Oh my goodness!
    I bet you were glad to have trusted your instincts!
    This is very scary but so interesting, Tanya...

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  26. That is SCARY! I'm glad we don't have snakes here!

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