A Snake In A Tree? Seriously?
This is certainly something you don't see every day...
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made." - Genesis 3:1
As she left the car and began walking toward the house,
my wife suddenly let go with a loud scream. I practically dropped the groceries, running around the end of the car to see what was wrong.
The Snake in the Tree
Original Work by @creatr
You might have screamed too.
When I reached her, anxious to learn what was wrong, the answer became quite obvious. There was a large snake curled between ridges in the dirt right beside the sidewalk. It may not have been moving, but it was certainly a sight that would startle anyone not expecting to see it.
Urging my wife and the dog to head into the house, I went to a brush pile and grabbed a long stick. When I began nudging the snake with the stick, it turned and moved with incredible grace and speed over to a nearby tree. As I watched, it went up and over a fork near the base of the tree. I thought it would simply continue on into the yard.
Imagine my amazement,
when it extended itself along a branch and headed further up into the tree. Pulling out my cellphone camera, I began taking pictures. Not knowing exactly what kind of snake it was, I hesitated to get too close to the creature. After getting several shots with the phone camera, I went in the house and grabbed a better camera.
I plan to study the photos I took.
While I don't think it was a rattlesnake, I'm not absolutely sure. If I can positively identify the beast, I'll let you know in an future post. Whether or not I do, I'll select and arrange a few more photos for another article. Meanwhile, I won't be climbing any trees with my eyes closed.
A snake in a tree?
It almost seems archetypical. Other than in the movies, I've never seen such a thing before in my life.
~FIN~
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I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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After reading your description , I recalled some Books I had read by adventurers in South America. There was a snake called a jumping Tommygof , which would hide in trees and strike from the side as you went past , this is it:-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothrops_asper I have also shot a Black Mamba with a .22 pistol that was in a tree where my Kids were playing (many years ago) Rinkals also very common where we lived on a smallholding ( spits in your eyes)
Yowzer!, that is one scary critter! Thinking of snakes striking from the side is a recipe for nightmares! :O
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your information with me. I'll think of you when I wake up in the middle of the night, screaming.... ;) :) :D
Glad I could assist with your excess sleeping problem!
LOLOL! :)
I believe this to be a gopher snake. They pretend at being rattlesnakes, but conspicuously lack a rattle, though their mimicking ability of the posture of a coiled rattler is impressive. They are non venomous, but will bite and are occasionally aggressive. They can be identified by the row of large spots running down the center of their back flanked by a row of smaller spots offset from the center row, on either side.
ohio.edu/people/brune/calif-mar11/gopher_24mar11_2b.jpg
Hey there, @lifeworship,
Thank you very kindly for the information and photo. That's kind of what I thought, but just had not yet had time to research it. I appreciate your comment and the photo very much. :) :) :)
Cheers!
I would have done more than scream lol
LOL! :D
My husband would have dropped the groceries and booked into the house in a single bound. He doesn't do snakes at all. I, on the other hand, would have gotten over my initial shock and taken pictures just like you did! LOL
Maybe @papa-pepper knows what kind of snake it is?
@lifeworship gave me a really good idea and an identifying photo. Haven't had time to follow up on it yet, but based on that I'm pretty sure it's what I originally suspected; a gopher snake. :)
Yeah, sounds like we're both pretty curious people... ;) :)
What an exciting experience. happy you are all safe.
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Thank you, my friend! ;)
Yikes! I do enjoy climbing trees but luckily I've never come across a snake in one.
What's that? A tree-climbing artist? :O
I'm happy to learn something new about you. :) I also enjoy climbing trees; I love the view from above! However, most tree climbing these days has been for trimming purposes, i.e. "hard work." ;)
And this is my very first tree snake! :O :O :O !
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Good to know, good to know...
well, you practically live in the desert - beware of that wilderness , my friend - there's more than the breeze whispering Louise LOL!!
Yep, this is most definitely the desert... pretty much all of Southern California is a desert, some of which just happens to have been reclaimed by bringing in irrigation. :O