Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Slitherin' Mania: Copperhead, Black Snake, and 6 ft Snake Skin

The snakes are back! Yesterday I was in Big Sandy Mush... me and Bort were talking about how we had not seen any snakes yet this year, which I guess summoned them from the depths cause not an hour later we had a snake fest.The first snake spotted was a copperhead under some thorny blackberry bushes on a concrete path that leads up to the Silo. It was sitting all coiled up and very alert. I did not feel as though the snake was at ease and I kept a good distance and left it alone. The eyes on this one actually look like they are made of metallic copper colored material - which is probably why Bort was utterly 'creeped out'- (understatement on his reaction to copperheads).
We also stumbled upon a large black snake warming itself in the woods on top my favorite tree. It had some unusual markings on it's side that we didn't know was from a fight/injury or if it was getting ready to shed it's skin... it slithered down the tree trunk and literally did a disappearing act (hole in the ground, hide under the bark, hole in the tree???) It slithered into the oblivion.
When Bort tried to show me another black snake that lives in his well house it wasn't in sight, but the skin it shed was hanging from the rafters and I pulled it down. It was split in two pieces (in the middle of the belly it had broke), but Bort held it together and the snake is about 6 feet LONG!
Not only that but the skin was fresh and new enough to have the head totally in tact! How cool is this??! Even the eyeball skin is on there!
I got to keep this snake skin and brought it home. It smells gross like an old fish, but I can't stop myself from loving it.
Xoxoxo'ssssssss