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. Snakes Alive! :0 Multi-Photo…
A lot of people were taught to (and also innately) fear and hate snakes. All my life i’ve admired them for their true beauty and excellence (as some of God’s amazing creatures). When Steve Irwin died, i cried and cried and cried; for he was a brilliant and wonderful spokesman for the true beauty and joy of snakes/spiders and similar creatures. Steve was such a supreme spokesperson for all of life’s amazing wildlife. When he died young… a lot of species — here on this earth where many animals are cruelly abused — lost their most important, kindhearted friend.
When very young, i used to briefly catch snakes just to admire them; then i’d release them back into the greenery. We had a large family picnic recently, and i purchased a lot of rubber/plastic snakes for the young boys of the family (of which there are many). While purchasing them, the cashier at the store cringed, and stated that she hated snakes. She then went on to say that she and her mother recently killed one that was in her mother’s yard. Many people kill snakes when they see one. I informed her that there are really no poisonous snakes in northern Illinois — the Massasauga is basically extinct and is illegal to kill if found — and that snakes are very beneficial in that they eat disease carrying vermin such as rats and mice.
Below are a few photos of a large Bullsnake that was in our yard recently. It gave off a wonderful fake rattling sound when it was curled around some dried leaves (at one point). It was beginning to shed its skin, so i grabbed it by the tail and moved it to where it could safely get under our gazebo. It was large and awesome… a beautiful, incredible animal! 😉
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Bullsnake (1)… by Thomas Peace 2013
Bullsnake (2)… by Thomas Peace 2013
Bullsnake (3)… by Thomas Peace 2013
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 