When M and I got home from clogging class, Steve and the boys ran to tell us to see what they caught in the backyard. This is what I saw when I looked in the bucket.
IT'S A SNAKE!!! HECK NO!!!! NO SIR!!! STAND BACK KIDS!!! DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER!!! STEVE STOP AGGRAVATING IT!!! OH MY GOSH IT'S HISSING!!! IT IS GOING TO EAT US!!! IT HAS TO BE EIGHT TO TWELVE INCHES LONG!!! IT HAS TO BE POISONOUS!!! IT HAS A DIAMOND SHAPED HEAD!!! OH I KNOW IT IS POISONOUS!!! HOLY CRAP!!! WE HAVE TO GET RID OF IT!!! I NEED TO CALM DOWN!!! WHERE'S A LID!!! NO YOU CANNOT PUT IT IN A BOX!!! THE BOX HAS HOLES!!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!! WE HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A FIELD!!! KIDS! I SAID, "STAND BACK!!!".
Yes, I said all these things and more in a high pitched, shrieking voice. Steve and the kids were staring at me like I had lost my mind. It was just a snake after all. Look. I grew up in Tennessee where we had cottonmouths, copperheads and my brother was once chased by a black snake with incredible speed. That image is seared in my mind. Moral of the story...my Mom always told me to avoid all snakes because you don't know which ones are poisonous.
I finally calmed down enough to think somewhat clearly and loaded all the kids in the car, found a lid for the bucket, and while Steve held the lid on the bucket, I drove to a field faaaaarrrrr away from where we live so that snake could live happily in the wild. I'm no snake killer after all.
Later I placed a call to a snake guy and sent him the picture to give me his professional opinion of the demon reptile who infiltrated my backyard. The verdict? Great Basin Gopher Snake. Salt and Pepper which is a desert variety that occurs every 10,000 snake births. Indigenous and quite common to the area. Mimics rattlesnake behavior, such as a diamond head and hissing and striking, when in distress. Not poisonous. (When in doubt in Utah, if the snake's tail comes to a point like a pencil, it will not be poisonous.) Also, if you find a snake in your yard, spray it with a hose. It will leave. All good information.
Now don't we all feel better knowing a little more about the snakes of Utah? Truthfully, I can answer yes and no. Yes - so glad to know that the snake was not poisonous and how to better identify in the future. No - there was a snake in my yard and I totally lost my cool.
IT'S A SNAKE!!! HECK NO!!!! NO SIR!!! STAND BACK KIDS!!! DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER!!! STEVE STOP AGGRAVATING IT!!! OH MY GOSH IT'S HISSING!!! IT IS GOING TO EAT US!!! IT HAS TO BE EIGHT TO TWELVE INCHES LONG!!! IT HAS TO BE POISONOUS!!! IT HAS A DIAMOND SHAPED HEAD!!! OH I KNOW IT IS POISONOUS!!! HOLY CRAP!!! WE HAVE TO GET RID OF IT!!! I NEED TO CALM DOWN!!! WHERE'S A LID!!! NO YOU CANNOT PUT IT IN A BOX!!! THE BOX HAS HOLES!!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!! WE HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A FIELD!!! KIDS! I SAID, "STAND BACK!!!".
Yes, I said all these things and more in a high pitched, shrieking voice. Steve and the kids were staring at me like I had lost my mind. It was just a snake after all. Look. I grew up in Tennessee where we had cottonmouths, copperheads and my brother was once chased by a black snake with incredible speed. That image is seared in my mind. Moral of the story...my Mom always told me to avoid all snakes because you don't know which ones are poisonous.
I finally calmed down enough to think somewhat clearly and loaded all the kids in the car, found a lid for the bucket, and while Steve held the lid on the bucket, I drove to a field faaaaarrrrr away from where we live so that snake could live happily in the wild. I'm no snake killer after all.
Later I placed a call to a snake guy and sent him the picture to give me his professional opinion of the demon reptile who infiltrated my backyard. The verdict? Great Basin Gopher Snake. Salt and Pepper which is a desert variety that occurs every 10,000 snake births. Indigenous and quite common to the area. Mimics rattlesnake behavior, such as a diamond head and hissing and striking, when in distress. Not poisonous. (When in doubt in Utah, if the snake's tail comes to a point like a pencil, it will not be poisonous.) Also, if you find a snake in your yard, spray it with a hose. It will leave. All good information.
Now don't we all feel better knowing a little more about the snakes of Utah? Truthfully, I can answer yes and no. Yes - so glad to know that the snake was not poisonous and how to better identify in the future. No - there was a snake in my yard and I totally lost my cool.
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