Down on the east side of the hill. a path meanders next to the marsh edge. This is where the old dog, Mr. PJ, and I hike every morning so he can take care of business and I can observe the shallows of the Bayou. During the winter months, this part of the Bayou is mostly mudflats with just a small trickle of water that teems with minnows and small mullet. Periodically, the tide will come in enough for some larger fish to venture in to dine upon the smaller ones but, most of the time, the minnows only need to watch for attacks from above.
This morning, I could hear an occasional soft splash as if something was hunting those minnows. I pondered which of our shorebirds was getting breakfast. As the old dog wandered close to the marsh, the bird was startled enough to stop hunting and peer over the marsh at the possible predator on shore. A beautiful great egret kept a close watch on the old dog but Mr. PJ had no interest in the bird.
It amused me to see the egret stretch high above the marsh tips to see who was trampling around on the path. Its long neck gave it a clear view above the almost four foot tall grass, I imagined that it was a lot like using a periscope! The bird probably sensed that it had no worries because it soon went back to scooping up the minnows. At the moment, a full belly was more important that dog watching.
Early this evening (just before dark), I went out to coax the old cat inside. It takes a lot of effort on her part and a lot of encouragement on mine to get her up the steps. She refuses to let me carry her so this is a good ten minute or so process...usually. Tonight, she was having no part of it. Instead, she sat staring in the weedy daylily garden. Well, that was a bit different. So, I sat down next to her and stared into the garden as well. It was not long before I spied what held her interest.
A sleek black and white head slowly pushed its way up through the oxalis plants. Ahh, what a beauty! A Black Racer was hiding among the leaves! This called for a photo session! I hurried inside for the camera. Of all things, the cat followed wanting to be fed. Ok...feed and water the cat then photograph the snake...if it was still there.
It was a great surprise to find the snake only inches away from where it was originally found! I knelt on the little deck and got face to face with the friendly Racer. It did not move other than to slowly sink back under the leaves. I waited. I knew that it would not take long before that curious snake came back up to investigate my presence. Sure enough, five minutes later, the snake's head poked up through the leaves. This time, it had slithered closer and was just a few inches from the camera. Nice! We sat there quietly watching each other for quite some time before darkness and a hoard of mosquitoes chased me inside. What a thrill to find this lovely snake in the garden!
The action of the snake rising up to investigate is one that all Black Racers seem to do. It is called "periscoping" and is one of the identifying behaviors of the snake. They are curious and will rise up a good ten or fifteen inches to get a different view. These snakes are great to have in the garden as they eat plenty of pests and will even eat other snakes.
Had the Bayou Queen (cat) not been so obstinate this evening, I would have never seen the snake and would have missed out on a lovely encounter. Love these snakes!
