I guess the above statement could be taken in several ways. From a medical standpoint, it probably would not be a good thing as it could mean a serious problem with eye health. From a local fisherman's viewpoint, seeing specks would be a good thing since "speck" is the colloquial term for speckled sea trout and any fisherman would be thrilled to find a bunch of specks in the boat! Then, there is Darling Daughter's viewpoint. Seeing specks meant she found another snake in her yard and it was a beauty! Elizabeth came across yet another snake that she dubbed as a friend. A Speckled King Snake had found its way into the yard and made itself right at home. She was delighted to have her new friend visit and told me that it was so docile that she got to "pet" it.
In our discussion about her friendly snake, we came to realize that not everyone loves snakes as much as we do. While my folks were ok with snakes on the farm, others are not so fond of them. I recall one time where Pop was doing some repairs on a pipe that crossed a pond on the old home place. As a youngster, I sat at the water's edge and watched. A large snake swam toward Pop who was waist-deep in the water. I screamed at Pop about the snake. His response? "Oh, let the snake watch out for himself. I am not going to hurt him!" That statement made a huge impact on my thoughts about snakes. From that point on, I was not afraid of snakes. They became a curiosity to me. I tried to pass that curiosity and respect along to my own kids. Elizabeth was a wee tot when I sent her to the garden to pick squash. After she was out in the garden for about ten minutes, she came back with her basket of squash. She then informed me that "There was a moccasin under one of the plants but I got the squash!" Sure enough, she learned to recognize the venomous snake and, sure enough, there was one under the plant! When asked about her calmness in facing the snake, she merely replied "You have always told us not to panic over things." Yep, that love for snakes has been passed down to another generation! Pop would be proud!
She has all of the luck...especially when it comes to finding really neat snakes. Darling Daughter, Elizabeth, sent me a photo the other day asking for an identity of a small snake she found in her yard. "Is this a king snake?" she queried? Yep...it definitely is and a beauty at that! The crazy thing is, this snake was found one frigid morning when snakes should all be in their warm, cozy beds! This little guy was not doing too good with the cold so Elizabeth warmed him a bit then covered him with some nice mulch. That should suffice to get the snake through the cold morning. Hopefully, the little rascal will find a much better wintering spot than the middle of their yard. Snakes are ill-equipped to handle the icy weather we have been having.
The king snake she found is one of the best critters to have in the yard. A king snake not only rids the place of all sorts of pests, it will also happily munch on other snakes including venomous ones. King snakes are immune to other snakes' venom so they have little worries when seeking a snake out as prey. They constrict their prey to kill it before swallowing it but can eat snakes as nearly as large as themselves. Besides other snakes, a king snake's diet consists of insects, lizards, rodents, birds and eggs.
After talking with Elizabeth about her lovely little snake, I sat back and thought of how proud I am of her. You know you have raised your daughter right when she tries to save a snake even before she knows what type it is. That little critter could not find a better place to live than right where it is.
