Ode to Snakes

Perhaps you are wondering what a cute little fawn is doing in my "Ode to Snakes" post.  It is out of consideration and respect and love for my loyal audience members, who miiiight be a little squeamish about images of slithering creatures and/or images of slithering creatures eating other creatures.  This is your warning to TURN BACK NOW!!!  AVERT YOUR GAZE!!!  Go watch a nice youtube video about cute, little, fuzzy bunnies.

For the rest of you, I will ease you in gently, before I smack you right in the eyeballs.  Btw, these were all taken in various places in Stokes State Forest.  This first one is a friendly little chap that was curious about the odd, floating creature in the strange brown getup.  That would be me, floating around the swamp in my float tube and chest waders.  

This is a northern waters snake.  Isn't he adorable?

These next three are just random garter snakes I came upon while hiking along critter trails.

Oops!  Did I forget to warn you?  Sorry 'bout that.

It is truly fascinating to photograph these creatures, doing what they do.  However, there are just so many pictures you can take of a tangle of snakes or of a snake swallowing a live animal--a painfully long process that seems to take years.  And I have to admit that when I put the camera down to just observe, I am sometimes overcome by an overwhelming sense of ickiness that is cured only by putting the camera back up to my face and taking more photos.

This next one comes from a series of photos that fill me with dread, when I go back to look at them.  At the time, however, it was one of the most incredible things I had seen out at "my swamp".  It was the end of the day, and I was heading back into shore on my float tube.  As I approached an old beaver lodge, which has also served as housing for muskrats and otters, it seemed to me that the lodge was "moving".  As I got closer, the reason for that became obvious.  The whole lodge was crawling with water snakes.   

This is actually three snakes.  At times there were up to six all tangled up. 

Don't need much explanation for these--snake eats frog.

This poor little frog fought to the bitter end.  He was still struggling as his feet disappeared into the snake's mouth.

Time for lunch.  See ya later.