Snakes

[DennisArrow]

While mowing the other day got a real shock.......yes, while mowing my 5 acre pasture have come across the usual critters......I saw a movement in the grass (3-4 foot high pasture grass and weeds) moving in front of me. Wondering what in the world, I looked closely and didnt see anything till I saw movement going up a small tree as I went past. Stopped the tractor and watch a 5 foot king snake climb the tree and go up into the branches right to eye height as I sat on the tractor........all of this in about 10 seconds.....This tree was scheduled to be mown down on the next pass. Needless to say I went around for a bit; but it just stayed there.
When I decided to go ahead and make the pass on the tree.....as the front of the tractor began to bend over the tree the snake dropped to the ground and went FAST in front of me over to a "permanent" tree and the brush around it.......
The point of all of this is.......what IF I hadnt noticed it and I just mowed over it......or if I had brushed against it as I drove by and "knocked" it onto me as it sought sanctuary in the cab itself..........lolol......this ol boy wouldve really been puckered.......anyway......sure great about the thoughts as one "works"........Dennis

 

[markie61]

We don't have king snakes here in Virginia - I assume they are VENOMOUS? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Mark

 

[RichZ]

King snakes are not venomous, but they do get real big. They're fantastic rodent eaters, and are harmless and actually very beneficial, but if you see one when you're not expecting it, it IS real shocking.

 

[markie61]

Gotcha! I got a sort-of "thing" about snakes /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif....

When I first started dating my wife, this "city boy" used to go out to her grandma's farm and help with chores. The barn was built by her 5'5" grandfather in the 1930's, so he built the loft a little low for my 6'3" frame. I knew blacksnakes (non-venomous) were around, because I saw the skins everywhere. One day, we were under the loft throwing hay to the cows through a hole in floor, when out of the corner of my eye just within range of my peripheral vision, I saw a blacksnake in the rafters hanging by my left ear. I screamed like a little girl (actually a VERY little girl) and ran outside to the safety of the outdoors and bright sunshine. I looked back inside when I heard laughter from within. Out of the gloom came my amused girlfriend carrying the old bicycle innertube that had been stuffed up between the beams.

Sometimes, it surprises me that she married me..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Mark

 

[19th_VA]

King snakes are also known to eat venomous snakes. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DennisArrow]

I agree with the kings eating rodents and other snakes......lololol......but when finding one up in a branch right next to your face as you are fightin branches when mowing......I imagine that it would cause certain anatomical regions to eat your shorts.......Dennis

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Sometimes, it surprises me that she married me..... )</font>

Oh I don't know Mark. She probably figured..."Now here's a guy who's going to be giving me a lot of chuckles!" /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[rbarker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Sometimes, it surprises me that she married me..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

)</font>

Are you kidding! Most women I know would love to have a story like that to hang over their husband's head! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[monkeybreath]

King snakes are very welcome around these parts. The conventional wisdom is that they will kill young rattle snakes. I have seen a few king snakes here, but not that many. I have seen and had to kill probably 20 rattle snakes - had young daughters around and did not want to take any chances. The other snakes - including gopher snakes which look a bit like the rattlers (except for head shape and or course no rattles) I just catch and move out further away from the house to keep CFO happy. I skinned the first rattler I killed - 5" 1" - but put a pretty good strain on the marriage when I used CFO's scissors and knife from kitchen. Mounted it. Could not bring my self to try the meat. A lot of interesting snake stories.

 

[Phred]

Very true. Also they are not very aggresive in my experince.

I stepped over one a few months ago until my buddy pointed it out. He was a small one by comparison. It was while walking through some tall brush and my foot was probably within a few inches off his business end. No problem. He is still out there hopefully eating mice.

Just glad he was not an agressive posinous snake!

Fred

 

[Hoeman00]

My brother is on our local rescue dive team and the owner of a gravel pit lost some parts and wanted them to do some practice and see if they could find them.
I dive too so I went along and both of us went in first doing half moon searches on rope.
The water was less than 20' deep and 50 or so degrees w/ visibility around 6" and 4' tall under water weeds.
Our search patterns over lapped and his buddies where controlling our pattern.
So the let us run into each other, the first time I grabbed his fin thinking it was the part (he thought a snapping turtle got him) the next time I went past in front of him and and he couldn't see me but he thought a coral snake was after him when it attacked his mask and octupus (I had yellow w/ red rescue line on me and it caught him in the face).
Needless to say when he told his buddies what all had happened underwater everyone had a good laugh.
We had never heard of a coral snake up this far north and I don't know if they can go underwater.

 

[Taylortractornut]

You think thats bad my olde brothers friend gave me a 2 inch diameter 3 foot long Ball python. Im not too crazy about snakes but i got it anyway. I gave her to a friend of my brothers and they didnt latch the cage here. Now ive got slick slithering around out here. If mom finds it they ll be hell to pay lol shes afraid of snakes. I remember my first girlfriends parents one day they asked me to come bury a barn they had fall down. I took my old backhoe and when i was using the loader to push in the hay rack a King snake fell on my arm. I abondoned ship they had a good laugh.

 

[Hoeman00]

I'm putting in a 2500' drive for a customer w/ my hoe so the dump driver walked over to the pond (out in a pasture field) and didn't spend much time looking.
Later he said the banks are FULL of snakes, as soon as he walked up lots of them hit the water. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Now he stays in the truck.