You may recall a year ago I had told of an incident that had occurred when I untarped my pasture mower deck, expecting a snake to be underneath, found none, but unbeknownst to me was the fact that there had been one curled up in the folds of the tarp and, when I lifted it off the machine, the bugger fell at my feet.* I didn't realize he was there until I felt him slide along my leg.
An interesting feeling.
Well, this year I was ready. I took my camera with me when I went to uncover my mower. That's how sure I was that there was a snake lurking. There is always a snake lurking underneath the tarp (they're big on warmth and seclusion).
Here are some photos I took.
Tarp being slowly lifted, revealing something black curled up and happy:
A closer look reveals ...
I wanted my mower. He wanted it too. Thus the look I got when I tried to nudge him:
This last photo gives you an idea as to how long a black rat snake can get. This one is six feet, give or take. Next year I'll bring a tape measure.
I finally coaxed the little guy off the mower, only to have him slither underneath and go up and wrap himself around the blade.So I took him for a ride. After about 75 yards of bouncing along, he plopped onto the ground and, when last seen, was heading south.
Beautiful little creatures, aren't they?
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* Sorry about the awful sentence structure. I've only had 1 and 1/2 cups of coffee so far.
** Before you write, no, I don't wash and wax my mower.
