a narrow fellow in the grass

Out bicycling this morning with Brandy, there was a lot of standing water on the trail, after heavy rains the past couple of afternoons.  Another cyclist approached after going through a shady area, and she warned me there was a snake on the trail, so I slowed down.  Brandy passed me from behind, and I relayed the warning.  He didn't hear me, though, and almost ran over the poor reptile's head.  It reared back as if to say, "Don't you know I'm dangerous?" – but didn't strike.

I recognized it as a diamond-back water snake, pretty common and not dangerous. Three feet or less long.  They do look kind of scary if you have an eye out for rattlers, as I always have in these parts.  But the diamond-back rattler has a distinctly shaped viper head, and this one had a streamlined watersnake head.  I watched it slither off into the underbrush, as fast as its little ribs would take it.

Made my day.  I really do love snakes.

Joe