Speaking of snakes . . .
It being the Chinese Year of the Snake, it was ironic that while my friends in Townsville (far North Queensland) were facing massive downpours and floods in some areas, my friend Barbara Hannay‘s son found this under his house. (The photo is used with his permission.)
Luckily it’s a carpet snake, so not poisonous and will probably clear the place of any mice or other small nuisances. But still, it pays to be cautious, as the floods will drive all kinds of creatures to seek safety in higher ground.
My grandad’s good friend, Cyril, kept a python in his big old open-sided shed — or rather it chose to live there. It lived there happily for years, keeping the meeces and rats down.
One time when I was a little girl, he lifted it down from the rafters and showed it to me. I still remember the smooth-but-scaly feeling of its skin and the intricate patterns. He also had an owl who lived in the shed as well and I guess it ate meeces too.
When old Cyril died, his relatives bulldozed his house and the shed and subdivided the farm. It’s now wall to wall houses. But I always wondered what happened to his snake.
I know people from overseas often freak out about snakes in Australia, and it’s true that we have a lot of the most venomous snakes in the world. But in truth, most of us never see a snake from one year to another. I’ve probably seen a handful in my whole life, and each time it was when I was walking in the bush, or in a wilderness area in the city and walking the dog and the snake is peacefully basking in the sun next to the path. They invariably slither away when they hear you coming.
Have you ever encountered a snake?
Love the a pattern on that snake – carpet snake since it looks like an oriental carpet? We do hear stories that everything in Australia is venomous, poisonous, or simply wants to kill you. Except koalas, but they smell bad? We have various snakes here in Maryland, US. Some are tiny, not much bigger than worms, we were lucking to spot one in the garden last year. We usually have a garter snake with stripes living in our garden. Occasionally we see rat snakes, or the closely related black racers, which can be 5+ feet long. They are great mousers!… Read more »
Yes, Ronin — “carpet” after the patterns in the lovely oriental rugs. And yes, there are a lot of things here that are dangerous — mainly spiders and snakes — but in the US there are wolves, bears and other big scary animals. Our big animals are pretty harmless. And come to think of it, I don’t know anyone who has been bitten by a snake or a really poisonous spider. We also have skinks and I love them. I had a little family of them in my old house and was so worried about them when my house was… Read more »
Yes my cousins on the farm in Pennsylvania MANY years ago were always bringing in snakes. Got quite used to to them. Enjoyed them actually.
Thanks, Pat. Yes, most snakes are shy and disappear before you can come across them. I was raised knowing to stamp my feet while walking in the bush. The sound and vibration scared them off.
If I can see the snake ahead of our becoming up close and personal, I am OK. I live in an area where some of the snakes are not cordial. Thanks for the picture. That is a beautiful snake.
Thanks, Annette — it is beautiful. And yes, I prefer my names at a distance, too.
I have encountered several snakes in several varieties, most non-poisonous and helpful to us all by keeping small critters under control; garter snakes, water snakes, western racers, blow snakes and the poisonous rattlesnake. The rattle snake graciously warns of its presence but will strike if it feels threatened and we all are taught early to avoid them because the younger they are the more likely to strike. The older snakes have learned most animals, including humans will leave them alone and they tend to slither off. The younger snakes also tend to dispense all their venom in the strike where… Read more »
Thanks for that, Karri. Yes, I think if people are brought up to respect snakes, there should be no problem. We don’t have many non-poisonous here, so kids are taught young not to touch, but as you say, if they hear you coming they will slither away. So sad that the little garter snakes are killed by mowers.