Thursday 3 September 2009

Holy Moly...SNAKE!

When I got home from work tonight, my daughter pointed out a snake on the path. That may be a usual occurrence in many parts of the world but in England, it isn't.

What could I do? There were children about and there was the threat of cats getting at it so I thought I'd pick it up and put it somewhere safe. So I dispatched my good wife to get a secure box for it while I picked the snake up.

It was obviously an escaped pet because it was very docile and was quite happy being handled...it seemed to be sun bathing quite happily prior to being picked up. To cut a long story short, after knocking on a lot of doors and not finding the owner, the snake is now with the RSPCA.

Below is a picture of the same type of snake. It is a Corn Snake and the one I picked up was the same colour and a good 2.5 feet long:


Before I get worried comments, I knew that the snake was either a common smooth snake or a corn snake (both of which are non venomous) so I was confident I could pick it up. If I had any doubts I wouldn't have touched it. Never touch a snake unless you are sure it is safe to do so. If you are not sure, wait for an expert to do it.

I think it was a pretty cool event and the snake was really cool too!

On to other things, the Powered armour now has sculpted legs and the Ogarix is still ticking along nicely; the arms are beginning to look much more defined and smooth.

Apart from that...not a lot that could possibly compare to catching a snake!

SERENDIPITY!

I haven't seen someone for ten years and I bump into them at work! They aren't in the forces any more but happened to be doing contract work at the base where I am stationed. How is that for a coincidence!? It was great to see them!

See you on the flip side.

2 comments:

Grekwood said...

Lucky it wasn't an adder, we've had a couple around our way lately, one crossed the road the other day and another went for a swim in the lake around the corner.... never knew adders could swim.

Inso said...

Sorry Grek, I missed this one!

Where I am living at the moment is very similar to a council estate. If I saw an Adder I would be EXCEPTIONALLY surprised.

The good thing is that I had a bit of a near miss with an Adder when I was small so I have the image of the snake etched on my mind.

As for Adders swimming...all snakes swim. It is just that some like to do it more than others. In the UK, with all the rain, I would expect it to be a required necessity!

Do you live in a fairly urban area? If you do, I would have been as surprised as you to see an adder. They are pretty renowned for being timid or shy so I wouldn't expect to see them near houses in an urban area (unless there are areas of tall grass near you).