Sneaky slimy slithering things

[Uben]

No, I'm not talking about politicians.

I have been working on the house today, repairing, replacing and repainting. I fininshed and went in to wash up. As I walked out to finish picking up my tools, I stepped off the porch (10" drop) just outside the door, and as I did I caught sight of something I am all to familiar with.........a snake, right underneath my feet! A big one, too, about 4 ft. I'm pretty good at identifying snakes because I hunted rattlers when I was younger. I immediately went for my snake catcher, which was only about 20 ft away. I managed to catch it, finally. I took a couple of pics of it so I could identify it. Turned out to be a blotched water snake, non-poisonous, but extremely aggressive, for a snake. I live at a lake, so I see a lot of snakes. I walked him down to the lake and released him.
Just about every spring, I wind up catching a snake or two around the house. Usually rat snakes, which are very common in our area. I take them somewhere safe and release them. Last year, I was in my garage, looking through some bins and noticed a snake in one. So, I got my catcher (made it in metal shop in high school 40 yrs ago) so I could re-locate it. It was all twisted around some paint cans and I quickly identified it as a rat snake, so I grabbed the tail end of it (couldn't see the head) and started unwinding it. I pulled out a 5 ft snake! Houston, we have a problem.....there is still another snake in the bin! This one was a bit smaller, so I assume it was the female. They were mating in my garage. I took the large snake across the street and released him by the water. When I returned the other one was nowhere to be found. Hey, they eat rats and mice, so these guys are our friends.
I've probably got a hundred snake stories, but I won't bore you with anymore. I love living rurally and seeing the wildlife.
I had a gray fox living under part of my house for a couple of months. Had a family of coons living under one of my decks for about four or five years. Sometimes when I'd go out in the evening, I would see three or four of the little ones poking their heads out to see what I was doing. I just talked to them and they would just sit there and watch. Every year there was a new litter, usually three or four.

[dhill926]

1. let me be the first to reply.....

I thought you were talking about republicans.....

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. I thought this was going to be political thread also. Glad it isn't

[Uben]

3. If I had seen that thread title, I would, too.

I kinda thought of that when composing the title.

[dhill926]

4. ended up being a much more interesting topic......

[BanzaiBonnie]

5. I'm not very happy with racoons at the moment

Mostly, I just leave them alone, but recently we've had a raider on my chickens. The chickens are locked up tight every night now, but I'm not resting easy. Racoons are smart and they love to eat chicken.

[WatchWhatISay]

6. They love our cat and dog food

One visits every night to raid any leftovers in our cats bowl out on the screened porch. I left the backdoor open the other night and looked up to see Rocky in the kitchen, eating out the dogs bowl. Then the dogs saw it and went nuts.

[hlthe2b]

7. I hope your kitties and pups are all accounted for....

;)

[RKP5637]

8. Yep, I thought it was about another republican indiscretion. This was more

interesting, 'casue republican indiscretions are about a dime a dozen. Your story was interesting and priceless.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. I thought it was going to be a newt thread

Newt Gingich, that is.......

[Maru Kitteh]

10. I was mowing the lawn one day and got really upset because I stepped on giant pile of dog doo..

and then the dog doo uncurled and slithered away.

I almost peed. :rofl:

[InvisibleTouch]

11. Nice, but...

...you know very well they are not slimy. ;) Please don't perpetuate a negative stereotype about these beautiful creatures.

Glad you are catching and releasing them in a safer place! :)

[RebelOne]

12. Snakes are not slimy.

I have owed 2 boa constrictors and I did not find they sneaky, slimy or slithering. They are actually good pets. They don't bark or shit on the carpet. They only bite if you get your hand in the way of their prey.