Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Swimming Pool

Day before yesterday, I was watering the plants in the oasis. As I started watering one of the potted plants out jumped a Desert Kingsnake. We seemed to startle each other. I was reminded of previous "encounters" in the oasis with these "nice fellows." Once I was cleaning the pool filter, reached down to get the basket and and instead of grabbing the plastic handle, felt the slimy soft skin of a young Desert Kingsnake (top photo). On another occasion, my brother-in-law was here with his family. We were in the oasis having breakfast and he was asking about how often we saw snakes. I think the words were still rolling out of his mouth when I looked down at the pool and saw this Desert Kingsnake drinking water from the pool. That was a treat for him and his family. (Except for those who were still in bed). The Desert Kingsnake is the snake we see the most here on the property. But, we have also had our share of Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Black Racers, Sonoran Gopher Snakes, Bull Snakes, and once a Western Longnose Snake. Most of these are really nice to have around. They keep the "pack rat" population down.

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