I went out this morning to finish up a little work on my scooter trailer, and there on the corner of the deck was a snakeskin about four feet long (over a meter). Then this afternoon about 1:00 I was walking up the sidewalk that goes from the shop to the garage and there was the snake.

He was in a flower bed between the sidewalk and the deck and he stayed still hoping I didn't see him. Naturally, I called my wife out to see him, just so I could see her freak out, and then I chased him off into the woods. I used a hose to spray cold water on him. I've used that method on him before. It doesn't harm him, but he doesn't like it. I don't know why I didn't think to take his picture. But how many snake pictures do I need?

I'm assuming he is the same snake that I see once or twice a year. He is a handsome hog-nosed black snake, similar to, but not as big as the one I saw in Georgia recently. The hognose is a rather docil snake compared to their cousin the blue racer. (I think I may be using local names here.)Blue racers are very fast, and if they can make you run, they will actually chase you. If you stop, they stop too. A hognose will just stay put and hope you go away. Both help keep down rats and mice. They also make some people freak out.
Howard