Had a visitor at the mill.

[DanG]

Now that Spring has sprung, this little guy came peeping out from under the mill.

[Woodwalker]

Killed the first one of the year yesterday. He wasn't in much shape to get his picture took when I got done.

[Tom]

I like'em Dan.  They keep the roaches and rats down.  As long as they aren't poisonous, there's nothing to fear. 

Gael Hollered "snake!" from the steel building the other morning.  I ran in there expecting a rattler but a big Garter snake had gotten caught in the mechanism that guides the door when it is rolled up.  I put on a pair of work gloves and tried to get it loose without hurting it anymore.  It bit my finger and drew a little blood right through the cloth back of the work glove.  I didn't know they could get through that much material.

With some aggravation, on my part and his, I finally got him loose.  He was chaffed a little but looked OK, so I took him outside and turned him loose on the stack of bricks over by the power pole and tractor equipment.  He quickly examined several holes and finally went into the stack and didn't come back out.  I hope he's OK.  He was about 3 feet long.

[Furby]

Now you boys know why Jeff brought that cold air down with him! ;)

[DanG]

Tom, I knew there must be a good reason to not put a door on my shed.  It keeps me from getting snakebit. ;D  THANKS! 8) 8) 8)

[karl]

Thanks- you guys have given me ONE good reason to not complain about the cold we are having now!
I know it ain't rational but I DON'T DO SNAKES! they are ALL too BIG!
My dear Marie (who had no fear of them, but went ballistic over spiders :)nearly hurt herself laughing at me chasing one through the lumberyard with the excavator one time...Dang, they're quick!

[woodbowl]

Yall' aught to be ashamed of yer selves talking about poor little ole' snakes like that!     ;D ;D ;D

[sawguy21]

That reminds me, I gotta watch my step on the hills around here this summer. Rattlesnake country. ;D

[dail_h]

   SNAKES MAKES GOOD NEIGHBORS!!!!!!!
  I agree wif Tom ,an Dang,ther's a coupla regulars 'round the place here.See'um occasionaly,don't pay no attention to'um much,unless I startle one under the tractor shelter,or under the last layer of boards in a pile.
   In my experience,if one has black snakes ,or king snakes around,one seldom has unfriendlys around.
   I MUCH PREFER SNAKES TO SNOW

[asy]

DanG, what kind of snake is that?

Woodbowl, did you catch that guy and pose him or did he try to eat the fence?

Is he still alive? and Do you know what he ate, the bulge is HUGE.

asy :D

[woodbowl]

Asy, I really don't know anything about that fellow, don't even remember where I got it. .......... Purdy ain't he?

[asy]

Purdy ain't he?

Yup, sure is.

From this distance.

asy :D

[Tom]

I've seen that picture somewhere before.  It seems the story was a Boa that got caught in an electric fence.

[Furby]

That may have been the story, but that is not an electric fence and there are actually several fences there. He's in two of them though, so perhaps the first one was the electric one. ;)

[beenthere]

Tom
That is what I recall the story was too. I had typed that when I looked again at the picture, and like Furby says, doesn't look like an electric fence.  So still a mystery, but I thought it came from Brazil or some other S. American country. I've seen it several times on other sites or emailed to me.

[Lud]

Saw that one on the Net before too......

We moved out to the country when I was in 1st grade and the first Winter we killed 258 snakes in the basement.............rake here,           hoe there, .............  Shovel them in the coal furnace.

It wasn't personal ,  but...........I believe,  to my bones,   that I'm improvin' the breed.

The snake I don't see is a good snake..........and he's intitled to every mouse, bug and frog that he/she/it sees.

The one I see- gets whacked....nothin' personal. >:( >:(

[isawlogs]

 There should be a warning about snakes in pics on here ...

I am with Lud here .. I see um , I kill um .. none gets a pass small big medium ...
If I had to work around um like you guys I would have a loaded shotgun by my side ... Aint no way I would let no snake look over my work like that , no way 

[pigman]

That could be an electric fence in the picture of the big snake. I have seen plastic  posts similar to the ones in the picture. I have an understanding with the snakes around my place, I will not bite them if they will not bite me. So far we have got along just fine. We have a six foot black snake that sometimes suns itself on the door step and it makes it difficult to get in the house stepping over it. : ;D

[DanG]

That family of Black Racers has been living under the mill for several years now.  I don't know how many offsprings they might have sprung off, but there should be a goodly number from the activities I've seen. :

I used to fear snakes, and I still don't like to touch them, but I've come to realize their value.  Without them, we'd be overrun with mice and rats!  I don't harm any of the harmless snakes, and only kill the poisonous ones if they're near someone's house....namely MINE! :D :D

[Sawyerfortyish]

I'm with Isawlogs I got a little 410 with #8 shot I keep handy. The only good snake is a dead one.

[CHARLIE]

Tom and I and the neighbor kids used to play with the non poisoness snakes we caught in our backyard when we were growing up.  Grass snakes, garter snakes, black snakes, chicken snakes, King snakes, racers and coach whips.  I'm not sure if we ever caught a racer to play with though. Those snakes are very fast. We sure chased enough of them though.  Used to put grass snakes down our shirts.  ;D