This morning, I was cleaning up around our storage shed. There was an open bag of potting soil that had been sitting around, adding to the mess. I picked it up and dumped it out by the azalea in front of the deck.
Whoops! Something fell out along with the soil, and writhed in the dirt. At first I thought it was a big earthworm. A closer look revealed a small snake. Figuring it was a garter snake, I picked it up.
Yikes! This was no garter snake. The baby serpent hissed at me with a wide pink mouth. Copperhead? Rattler? (no rattle) but definitely a venomous snake with its triangular head. If you can identify this baby, please drop me a line!
After showing it to the workers at the house next door, I took the snake to a warm rock by the stream at the bottom of our property, and let it go.
The big questions: Where is the mama? Where is the nest? Are there more surprise snakes lurking nearby?
