Springtime in Tampa, backyard denizens

[HAB911]

[mnhtnbb]

1. There is nothing that will scare me more

than seeing a snake when I least expect it. And I don't expect to see them in bushes or trees.

We found a skin that a black snake had shed on a bush near the front door to our garage apartment last summer! Ack! I wouldn't
have wanted to see him shedding the skin!

Nice shots.

[HAB911]

2. I'm the same

I have been in my home for 37 years, and am very cognizant of where I walk and sensitive to pattern recognition to keep from hurting myself reacting to these guys. the black snakes are very reactive and will generally get out of your way asap, but the rat snakes don't seem to acknowledge your presence and there is the very real possibility of stepping on them. while i have seen hundreds of these guys over the years, I've only seen two rattlesnakes. i'm told these two keep the rattler population down, so i've come to love and protect them. literally, they can go anywhere they want to go without legs, even seen them going up the side of a rough stucco wall, very respectable climbers.

[alfredo]

3. Just think of them as lizards without legs.

[liberal N proud]

4. And I am gone