Annie the Snake

The other day (May 26), I was tending to some yardwork and spring cleaning. There was a small plank of wood under our park bench, and when I picked it up was startled by a small Garter Snake. "Whoa!" I exclaim. "Hey Alex, wanna see a snake?"

He comes running. "Can I pick it up?"

I give him the sideways glance of dubiousness, and ask him how he proposes to pick up the snake. He patiently explains exactly how an unknown snake should be apprehended, including the use of a stick to pin it down and the proper grip on its neck so it can't give you a bite.

"Watching much Jeff Corwin?" I ask.

"I pick up snakes at camp ALL the time."

I consider that there are no poisonous snakes native to Rhode Island. I look again, and this one definitely looks like a Garter Snake (like the one Laurie found in the laundry hamper one morning).

"OK, go for it."

Two shakes of a rattler's tail later and he's showing me the bottom side of the snake and pronouncing it a girl and its name will be "Annie the Snake."

I fetch my camera and grab a few pics (most of them auto-focused on everything but the snake) and then we let her go. She glides into the crack between the house and the front steps.

"That was cool," I say.

"Yeah," he concurs.