Apparently, this was a breeding pair of water moccasins, and they were none too happy to be disturbed. The large (3.5 to 4 ft) swimming snake was probably the male while the larger (+ 5 ft), really angry snake was likely the female. The female shook her tail and opened her mouth to display her displeasure. When we maneuvered around for a better view, she even wiggled her tongue at us to show her rage. The male just swam around, either hunting or waiting to be alone again with big mama. We stood there watching them for about ten minutes. Strangely, the female disappeared without us seeing where she went, but the male kept patrolling the area.
After we went around to Sam's other plots, we couldn't resist going back to the first ditch to try to get another look at them. We found the male swimming around a little further down, but the female was still hiding. While I was leaning in to take a picture of the swimming male with my phone (which didn't turn out), the snake actually disappeared in front of my eyes! There was this noise like breaking the seal on a pickle jar, and the snake was gone. It was too creepy to see how quickly it could disappear... and to think that they can ostensibly re-appear just as quickly. So, in future visit to Sam's sites, I will not be getting in the ditch. I will stand on the bank and be the data recorder, thank you!
A couple of days ago, we went to Monteagle, Tennessee for a little R&R. While we were there, I found a little garter snake that was so extremely groggy I wasn't sure it was alive (it didn't respond when I dropped little sticks close to it, but it started sniffing with its tongue when I dropped a little stick on it). He was hanging out by the house, sunning himself, and left without incident.
I didn't see any wildlife on my hike in Savage Gulf State Natural Area. I'd been looking forward to possibly seeing some nice wildflowers, as their peak season is April through mid-May, but I didn't see anything exciting. It was fun to go back to Savage Falls and also very pleasant to go on a good hike with just Cuba and me.
While it was a short visit, Monteagle was great fun as always. I got to hike. Andrew got to chill. Madison got to explore the Assembly grounds. We got to see our good friends Nick and Andrea and their darling daughter, Aspen. Now we're looking forward to MusicFest next weekend!!!!
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 04/28/07.
