He’s A Cold-Hearted Snake…

…And I almost looked into his eyes… Except he ducked back down into his hole before I could catch him. Quest and I were out for our daily neighborhood patrol today, and since the weather has been much warmer we decided to take the long route which goes alongside a cornfield for about 2 blocks. Just as we were approaching the field, I saw a little head bobbing up and down. It was small and black with the distinctive weave of a reptile and as soon as I got closer he disappeared. I hung around for a minute while Quest took care of his business at the fire hydrant on the other side of the road, but the cute little bugger never came back out of his hole. Yes, I said it was cute. I like snakes. Don’t you?

I am not afraid of snakes. Here in Illinois, we have very few poisonous snakes and the ones we do have (the Copperhead, the Water Moccasin or “Cottonmouth” and the Timber Rattlesnake) reside mostly in counties farther south of here. Illinois is also home to the Massasauga or “Swamp Rattler” which lives in the extreme North end of the state. Actually, there are a couple of really nice Pygmy rattlers and a Bull Snake down the road from my house at the local nature museum. I drop in every so often to visit them.

Last year, while camping, I almost caught a common water snake while we were out fishing. My girls and I (and some friends who were with us at the time) spent about an hour chasing him from shore to shore in the cove, but I all I managed to get was the above photo. I did come within a foot of it before it slipped back into the lake. I am guessing it was about 18 inches in length. Very pretty snake.

Did I mention it was all girls chasing the snake? That’s right – all girls. The guys stayed on the bank and wouldn’t have anything to do with catching a snake. One of the guys even said he would go get back in his car if I brought it anywhere near him. What a chicken!

If you are wondering why I am so knowledgeable about snakes, my eighth grade research paper was on rattlesnakes and I think I read every snake book in the library while writing that paper. They just fascinate me and since I know how to spot them and tell if they are “good” or “bad” snakes, I am not afraid of them. That doesn’t mean I am not cautious. Snakes are still “wild” animals and should be treated as unpredictable. I don’t recommend grabbing the first snake you encounter and trying to play with it. Even a harmless little garter snake WILL BITE and it WILL HURT and you MAY BLEED. I’ve not experienced this first hand, but I’ve been around someone who did get bitten by a garter snake. A band-aid and some antiseptic fixed his finger up just fine. He cried like a baby, tho. What a sissy. ;))
On the flip side of this, I had a cousin who was very irresponsible. He was an experienced hunter who would often catch rattlesnakes and sell their skins. One day he had been drinking and happened upon a rather large rattler that would have made a nice pair of boots. Long story short… he survived but he lost two fingers and half of his thumb. Use your head and don’t try to catch snakes while under the influence. #-o

So ladies, how many of you are afraid of snakes? Or maybe the better question is WHY are you afraid of snakes. I am referring to the non-poisonous kind. Why is it that girls are so afraid of snakes? (or spiders for that matter but I’ll cover that topic on another day) I mean it does say in Genesis 3:15 “She will crush your head while you strike at her heel.”

One thing I think that makes girls more afraid is that they are more likely to be bitten by a snake. Yep, girls are more likely to be struck. Do you know why? Because snakes have no ears. They “hear” with their tongues. Snakes gauge the severity of the situation by the air around them. When girls see a snake, they scream and flail and make weird arm gestures as if they can just fly away from the snake. The snake isn’t watching the girl do the chicken dance and sticking it’s tongue out to mock her, the snake is feeling the air around itself which has gone from the peaceful calm of basking in the sun to tornado-like conditions brought on by some crazy chick who dared to wake it up.

Boys react just as stupidly, but without the wild gestures. Boys will approach the snake in a much calmer manner, more out of curiosity than fear. The snake will sense a potential predator, but will be less likely to strike because it is not quite as threatened. When a boy approaches, the air around the snake would be more like a strong breeze than the hurricane conditions girls create.

So this is the weekly poll question: Are you afraid of snakes and why?