Sunny Days Snakes

We had a couple toasty days last week.  It was gorgeous -- 90 degrees.  So, of course, Chigiy and I were thinking about snakes.

It is the anniversary of her rattlesnake bite.  Chigiy had brought her camera along on our daily walk with the intention of photographing the siren patch of lupines that lured her last year.

As we were strolling and nattering away, I happened to glance down at the trail.  What I saw stopped me in my tracks.  I grabbed Chigiy's arm as I pointed, unable to speak.

There it was, basking beautifully in the sun all shiny and snakey.  It turned out to be a gopher snake, but at first glance, you really can't tell, which is pretty much the whole point of the gopher snake's appearance.

So we picked it up.  Or rather, Snake Girl did.  So that I could take pictures. And hold my dog back.

This was a young snake, probably not more than a year or two old.  The young ones tend to be very docile.  The older ones are more inclined to hiss (feigning the rattle of their doppleganger) and they will even pretend to strike like a rattlesnake.  Garter snakes, on the other hand, freak out and poop all over you the moment they are picked up; not that I blame them.  

But it's a nice treat to get to hold snakes and admire them up close, feel the way they move, watch their scales move as their groovy muscles ripple.  This little guy looked as if he'd just shed -- very glossy.  The photos don't do him justice.

But the upshot of all this is:  it's snake season in CA.  Step carefully out there!