I have always liked snakes

I don’t know why I’m so enamored with snakes, but they’ve had a hold on me since I was a kid.

They still do.

Last week at the cabin I saw our 10-month-old springer Dot cautiously approach something in the yard. About the time I thought “snake,” it struck at her, missing by a foot, but putting her in retreat.

It was a big, beautiful bull snake, vividly marked in gold and black and green. I was thrilled to have such a magnificent creature in my yard.

Growing up, the only snakes in my yard were those that escaped their cages. Although my parents didn’t share my passion for reptiles, they tolerated it, letting me keep snakes, lizards and turtles as pets.

I caught them by design and by accident. I remember returning from recess with a garter snake I’d found in the woodlot next to the school and being told, “No, you can’t bring that inside.”

On family vacations I’d beg my parents to stop if we passed a snake or a turtle on the road. They often did.

It’s a passion I share with few others. Even the guys I hunt and fish with, some big, burly brutes, panic and flee at the sight of a snake.

That’s the common reaction. A scant, few others, like me, thrill at the sight of a snake in the grass.

I was heartened recently to hear about some local kids offering a snake removal service here in Malta. On the flyer advertising their services, however, it was noted that they couldn’t remove rattlesnakes, probably a parental stipulation.

And that’s where I draw the line, too. While I find rattlesnakes fascinating, I’m much more likely to kill them and eat them than let them be. I was more tolerant of buzzworms before I lost a dog to snakebite a few years back.

The bull snake in the yard put on quite a show, hissing and shaking his tail in the dry grass, imitating a rattlesnake. Eventually, though, the snake quit the fight, and decided to leave. I directed him toward a part of the yard torn up by pocket gophers and he disappeared down one of their holes.

I hope he stays. The gophers are getting out of hand, and he could eat quite well. If not, he’s always welcome as a visitor.

I’ve always liked snakes.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]