City - Arnold State - MARYLAND Country - United States
About
This exotic-looking backyard visitor showed up in our ordinary suburban Maryland housing development a few weekends ago.
It's fancy-schmantzy name is Opheodrys aestivus aestivus, otherwise known as Rough Green Snake. It doesn't feel rough at all, but it gets that name from its keeled scales, which distinguish it from a different species, the Smooth Green Snake. In any event, it's a goregous creature.
These arborial snakes are native to the eastern part of the United States, ranging from Connecticut to Florida, the Gulf States, and the Mississippi Valley to Kansas, Illinois and Ohio.
Because of their coloring, you rarely see them, so this one was a real treat. Our next-door neighbor's kids found it, and knowing I like these kind of things, gleefully brought it over for me to see. We put the snake on this fallen tree branch, and while one of the kids held the branch, I snapped away.
This one was about 20 inches long and about as thick as one of my fingers - that's about average. These are pleasant snakes - well-tempered and not prone to biting or other unpleasant behavior - and oh yes, not poisonous!
Great colors and sharp focus really emphasize the dramatic lighting, Steve.
...and thanks for showing some neighbor kids that snakes don't deserve to be killed 'just because'.
Too many ignorant folks in my neck of the woods like to lump snakes into two errant categories: water mosskins (sic) and rattlesnakes. If they see it anywhere near water, it belongs to the first category, therefore dangerous, therefore a justified killing. If there's no water anywhere, and it has any sort of symmetrical markings (like you find on corn snakes) then it's clearly a rattlesnake, and... :(
I've been fascinated with snakes all my life, and this is a great shot!
WOW...fantastic detail and lighting in this image. Very impressive indeed. I diligently read your "about" patiently waiting to see if the snake was poisonous and I was so glad at the end when you remembered to tell us it wasn't poisonous. Very relieved to hear that. This is a very poerful image and exudes a great moody feeling. Wonderful! Cheers - Ann :)
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{K:88111} 11/6/2005
