Never assume that all snakes...

...are on the ground. Oh yes - we watch exciting exploration shows and see Condas and Pythons hanging from branches in the deep jungles of Africa. We watch with bated breath as our favourite crazy host, the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin delicately extricates one of the most venomous snakes to be found in Australia out of a tree - by crikey. And we assume that it is only in these far off places where snakes chose to live above ground. But I am here to tell you and SHOW you that this is not the case - that here too in the US, snakes can and do climb trees. Very big trees. Trees in your yard, that you walk underneath every day - not suspecting that in those leafy green branches there just might be a 5 - 6 foot black rat snake lurking.

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This little fellow has been hanging about the past month or two. First he was hidden in the stones near one of the outbuildings. Next we had him sitting by our back door for a day. Then yesterday while Anna was walking Zack she almost stepped on him as he was sunning himself in the grass beneath the above pictured tree that you see him in.

She called one of the boys to come and get Hugo and I. Excited to finally see him out in the open we grabbed the camera but before we could photograph him sun bathing he grew tired of all the excitment and started to slither away. Fascinated we watched him but we almost fell over as he started up the tree. However - we did have the precense of mind to take a few pics of him as he did this. He is well above my 5' 3" frame in this picture.

So from now on - I will be checking for our handsome neighbour not just under my feet, but also above my head. Read more!