Surprise In The Crawlspace
A couple weeks ago, as my husband, Bill, and a friend were working in our crawlspace, in an area where one can’t even crawl, they came upon a copperhead. Having snakes in the crawlspace is not unusual and to some degree welcome, since they eat mice that invite themselves in, despite all our attempts to discourage them. But to find a copperhead is, to say the least, a bit unsettling! We no longer have a copperhead in the crawlspace.
The Question About Hiking
Since I’m out hiking every day that weather allows, I’m frequently asked if I see any snakes. The answer, easily and quickly is NO. Since starting my daily hiking at the beginning of April, I have perhaps seen 6 snakes — all of them run-over, flattened, and all of them little ring-necked (diadophis punctatus) snakes. No wait, there was another snake I saw, a small garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snake, but he too was flattened by car/truck tires. Given the number of run-over snakes, you’d think that we have loads of traffic on our isolated road, but that is definitely not the case. I’ve been told by at least one person that if he sees a snake while he is driving, he aims for it. Poor things.
Today – A Snake Worth Noting!
About 1/4 way through my hike today, on a hillside where I usually notice beautiful southern hare-bells, and yummy looking cinnabar chanterelles, I finally saw a snake worth mentioning! It was a copperhead. I recognized him right away. I occasionally see them around our yard, and in that case, I just turn around and go the other way. This fellow was slithering up the hillside, minding his own business. When he realized that I was there, looking at him, he raised his head and stayed in his zig-zag position, perfectly motionless, letting me take lots of photographs. Such a cooperative model!
Parting Words
After taking enough pictures that I was fairly confident that I had gotten at least one decent pict, I continued on my way, but only after telling him to spread the word that he and his family are not welcome in our crawlspace!