Saturday, July 21, 2012

Saturday Snapshot - Snakes

A few wildlife scenes from my in-law's Georgian Bay cottage . . . 


This water snake just shed its skin and decided that a nice warm boat motor was the place to hang out.



This is a massassauga rattlesnake, the only rattlesnake native to Canada, and it decided that our front walkway would be a lovely place to spend a morning. The same place I travel daily . . . in bare feet.

Normally I don't mind things like snakes and wildlife and such, but this rattler was enough to give me pause, I gotta say. You see that little black nub on the end of his tail? That's the rattle he buzzed to warn me and my camera away, which I gladly did after I got a couple of good photos.

For more Saturday Snapshot contributions, or to participate, visit Alyce @ At Home With Books

39 comments:

laughingwolf said...

despite it looking well fed, i'd shy away, too...

Melissa O. said...

Boy that had to have been a bit of a shock! Great pictures!

Here's my Snapshot post.

Paulita said...

Yikes. It took me a minute to see the snake in the first photo. Scary that there's a rattlesnake in your neighborhood. Here's Mine

gautami tripathy said...

Snakes scare me! Even the harmless ones.

These are really great shots. You were so brave to take the pictures.


Here is my Saturday Snapshot post!

Jackie McGuinness said...

You're braver than me to take this photos. I didn't know we had rattlesnakes here in Canada.
I would have screamed and ran away!!

Barbara The Healthy Nut said...

Not exactly the kind of wildlife I like to shoot pictures of, so I give you credit for staying around to take these. Hope you had your snake shoes on!!

Leslie (Under My Apple Tree) said...

I don't mind snakes as long as they are the non-lethal type. I hope you were using a zoom lens to get that shot!

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

I am creeped out by snakes...lol. So sorry, but I don't think I'd ever go barefoot again....

Thanks for sharing, though, and for visiting my blog.

Arti said...

It's good just looking at the photos. I'm glad I've not been confronted by snakes while taking my walks in the provincial park near my home (Alberta). What amazing pictures these are!

Nan said...

Oh, yuck! Is the water snake poisonous? Even if not, I would so hate to come across it when I was swimming. I can take garter snakes, but that is it. I didn't know Canada had any rattlesnakes. Just your area?? Thinking of moving?

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

Ok, I am not normally afraid of snakes but that second one would freak me out ;)

Kailana said...

Living in a place where that is not a huge worry, I am not sure how I would react around big snakes like that... I might suddenly become a not a snake person...

bermudaonion said...

There wouldn't be enough room in that boat for that snake and me!

Christine Harding said...

I don't think I could cope with snakes in the garden. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/ha45K

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

Snakes are scary - glad we don't get them in our garden!

edgar said...

Good photo but that's scary.

Irene said...

O.k. my vacation would have been over. It is poisonous right?

Nise' said...

I don't mind snakes as long as they keep their distance!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

That fat snake is so scary looking. The other I could handle better:)

Book Savvy Babe said...

ack Snakes!! Yeah, I am not a snake person, I would squeal and run away if I caught a rattler in my yard, or anywhere close to my house... I get the garter snakes, but I still keep my distance from those... I am a chicken... anyhow, thanks for stoping by my SS Book Savvy Babe

Eugenia O'Neal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cipriano said...

OK, that is so creeping me out!
I know this is not a very manly thing for a..... man to be saying, but really, I can't stand snakes, and if either of these serpents were that close to me, I would be going a bit mental.
Yaaaiiieeyy!
You are brave!

Eugenia O'Neal said...

The last thing on my mind when I see a snake is my camera. You have great presence of mind!

Shrink to Fit said...

Yikes! Snakes don't usually give me reason to run, but a rattler would have shaken me up a bit! Good pics :)

Alyce said...

You are so brave! Kind of neat to see one in the wild like that, but I definitely wouldn't want to see one in my front yard. :)

laughingwolf said...

it's endangered: http://www.massasauga.ca/

Bev Hankins said...

Yikes! I'm not normally afraid of snakes (or other critters), but that rattler would definitely have me rattled if it were in my front yard.

Here's my Snapshot.

Trish said...

To answer a few questions . . .

@ Jake - the only place in Canada to have rattlesnakes is in the Georgian Bay area of Lake Huron, which for many people is cottage country.

@ Nan - no, water snakes are not poisonous but they do bite. They are also very skittish and don't come near us when we're swimming. But, yeah, the thought that they might kind of gives me the heebies.

@ Irene - yes, this rattle snake is poisonous. I don't think they are as lethal as the ones in the desert, but a bite does need to be treated at a hospital asap.

@ LW - thanks for the link. I had heard they were rare, but endangered too? I think they do a real service by keeping the rodent population in check.

Debbie said...

Same here about the snakes. I would be very startled to see a rattlesnake in my backyard (and they are not all that rare where I live).

Bookzilla said...

Snakes, blech! Gives me the willies just looking at the picture. Glad you both seem to have left the encounter unscathed.

Lisa said...

Might be good to find a different path! That's a great photo.

My Snapshot

Joy Weese Moll said...

Great photos. I kind of like snakes, but I'd be really careful of one with a rattle. In Missouri, we're more likely to encounter copperheads so I'm careful around them, too.

Esme said...

These are disgusting-I must state that snakes give me the creeps-give me a spider any day and I am okay but not a snake.

Louise said...

Wow, I don't know that I could stand still long enough to take pictures- you did a great job. Snakes freak me out more than Iike to admit to I think.

Kranky Granny said...

Your are braver than I would have been. when in high school I once found a five foot black snake sunning in the rays coming through my bedroom window (no idea how it got in the house) and ended up spending the day on top of my dresser waiting for one of my brothers to come home and remove him. Now, as a old lady I wonder why I ever jumped on the dresser instead of backing out the door I came in by.

Wrighty said...

Snakes really don't bother me much, although they aren't very cute and snuggly, but a rattlesnake is not my cup of tea. Ick. I usually just see little garter snakes. Your photos are really impressive! And now that the snake has posed for you he can go away so you can go back to bare feet!

srivalli said...

He is beautiful...you got sme great shots! If he had been in my walk way, i wouldn't have managed to take any pictures, i would be running away! Thanks for stopping by!

Laura BurgandyIce said...

YIKES!!

I am with you... snakes are ok except where you hang out barefoot!! You'd think he'd know he was in your territory... if he cared about that sort of thing!!

Great pix!!! Thx for visiting my Sat!

Lisa@ButteryBooks said...

I don't even like to look at pictures of snakes!