garters that women once wore to hold up stockings.
I saw it yesterday, in fact, when I went to water the flowers on the
front steps. It moved quickly, sniffing the air intently with its
tongue. I marveled for a moment and then heard Dale at the side of
the house. I called to him to come see, and the snake stayed put
nicely. Wanting a picture, I went inside to grab the camera. When I
took aim, however, the little fella slithered away under the porch.
There'd been something bothering me about his eyes, though. I knew
it was a garter but began thinking maybe I was wrong; the eyes shone
bluish in the light which threw me. So a short while ago I began
looking online for garters to see if my memory could pick out the
snake again. It had seemed to me that the stripes were duller than
the pictures I saw online. And, the eyes were so bright compared to
what I'd seen. Then I saw a picture of an eastern ribbon snake and
thought, maybe it was one of those? But I couldn't find pictures of
the bluish eyes.
That's when I realized: The snake must have been molting. Their
eyes look like they've got cataracts when they're about to lose their
skin. I confirmed this online and then thought, "Gee, but /was/ it a
garter? Eastern ribbons are rare in this area, but they have been
sighted! Man, I wish I had a picture of that little guy!!" I
compared photo after photo of them online, and was fairly certain it
was a garter, but ... if it WAS a Ribbon, I certainly wanted to
report it. Did it have the white spot in front of its eye? Or did
it have the blackish lines on its mouth? My memory was too foggy
with the photos dancing across my retinas. There was no way I'd ever
know without seeing him again.
Burning curiosity and scientific excitement got the best of me. I
figured that if he'd been under our porch once, it was feasible he
could be living under there - assuming he hadn't stopped in our
flowerbed for a little basking action or somesuch and had slithered
off when he felt the prying eyes in my head had left. So, I ventured
out onto the porch and glanced down at the spot I'd last seen him -
and almost shit my pants. There he was!! His tongue wasn't out, so
I tiptoed back inside and snatched the camera. His eyes had cleared
since yesterday and he seemed a bit brighter than I remembered. He
must have molted already, and was now basking in the sun as I'd
thought, the shelter of the dark porch his security against intruders
- such as photographers. Well, he stayed put this time, and never
seemed the wiser. I think they sleep with their eyes open, so maybe
I was quiet enough not to wake him. At any rate, I got him!!
And as I was just writing this, I saw the mail person come up the
steps and deliver our mail. I ran out after she was gone and he's /
still/ there, in the same position. Feeling pretty comfy over there,
apparently. Then again, I was all over that porch yesterday and
never would have seen him had he not objected to being sprayed with a
bit o' water from the can. (Sorry, Mr. Snake.) (Assuming it's a Mr.)
~w
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