It was one of those idyllic sunshine days in April. I was with several of my family members on Easter weekend walking along the Chesapeake Bay in Elk Neck State Forest.
The girls were making sand castles with small shells and sticks, the guys were watching the sun on the water, I was looking for pieces of driftwood. My husband eventually joined me and we walked further up the beach.
“There’s a snake.” my husband suddenly said. He dislikes snakes much more than I do, but let me tell you, when you hear the word snake, and don’t see it, you become very aware of the surroundings and your shoulders instinctively raise up toward your ears just a bit. It was a little eerie when I finally saw it lying motionless among the gnarled roots and pieces of debris. I wondered how long it had been watching us.
The Northern Water Snake species is harmless. It was probably an older snake. Its back was dark and the orange bands on the bottom of its body were faint. The bands are brighter and much more pronounced when the snakes are young.
We went our way and I suppose he eventually went back to his den when the sun went down. The orange banding on the water snake is my entry in Traveling at Wit’s End Photo Challenge – Orange
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 
oooo – what a cool photo of that snake – and nice for orange 🙂
and happy belated easter amiga
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It was very thick…and looked so strong. It never moved while we were looking at it. Smart snake. Happy belated Easter to you also. I hope I can visit everyone’s blogs today. It’s been a really busy few days with Easter weekend and time to plant so much. I have a sweet Rose of Sharon just beginning to leaf out. I’m thrilled it lived. I expect it to double in size this year.
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Oh take your time getting to blogs – I think it is nice to have foplks miss us – ha – but just not too long –
and whew – my Rose of Sharons have to be cute back this week – too tall and too thick (and they will split if I do not do that)
– also – what a great place to enjoy family time
🙂
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It was really lovely. We go the sunrise service at Hart’s Methodist Church. They have an amphitheater built into the hillside. It is a nice way to start Easter Day.
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oh that is a wonderful way
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Whew ! That was eerie- being watched is not a good thing. Thank God it wasn’t poisonous or young or aggressive.
But it is a beautiful snake and good it let you alone- Live and let live.
Susie
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That’s how I feel. They probably help keep the population of river rats and other rodents down.
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Oh goodness…good to know it wasn’t a ‘bad’ snake.
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It never moved…very non-aggressive and calm.
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You are one cool cucumber to take a good shot of a snake.
Intellectually I know to be wary of snakes, but we lived on Long Island for 50 years. There are no poisonous snakes there, so I relaxed my guard. The first snake we saw in NC was a huge one in our garden, slithering through a rock wall. Without thinking, I grabbed my camera and walked out toward it. Thankfully, I stopped in time to assess the situation. It was OK. Just a black snake. Next time I hope to think first.
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My sister lives in NC. I know they’ve told me there are copperheads in NC. Maryland has them too, but this one was not venomous.
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We have three venomous snakes in the mountains. I should review them every spring.
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