Snakes

When we moved here, I was pretty wary of snakes. I made sure my oldest children knew the differences between venomous and non-venemous snakes. I showed them many pictures of copperheads and timber rattlers. And they were instructed to do things like step onto a log and then down, instead of over a log when in the woods, etc. (I didn't want them to surprise a snake and get bit.) I require them to wear tall rubber boots when they are out in the hay field or in the woods, or down on the dam where the snakes like to sun.

So far, we have only seen non-venemous snakes, and a handful of snake skins. We had a giant rat snake coiled around a gutter on the house once, a snake skin hanging from a hole in the stone siding of the house, a snake skin in the loft of the hay barn, snakes sunning on the patio, a snake in the garage, snakes lurking under the paddle boat and slipping into the water when we move it. I've even run over snakes, inadvertently. In fact, I've run over two this week! This is because the roads here are so narrow, the sides overgrown, and the snakes so long that they cover much of the road. 

This morning, when returning from delivering groceries to the elderly with my two oldest, my son cried out as we made our way slowly up our loooong gravel driveway. "There was a snake in that bush!" he said. So I backed up and we got a good look. I'm pretty sure, due to the fact that it was primarily black with regular faint yellow patches, long, and not a pit viper, that it was a black rat snake.  What do you think?