Yep! I took that picture of that snake. I could tell you some long
drawn out tale about it being a rubber snake or stuffed snake or a
camouflaged rope, but you could tell I was lyin'. He was real (I assume
it was a he because he didn't try to kiss me when I first approached
him). Found him all stretched out on a country road up by Bridgeport
late one evening soaking up what heat was left in the gravel as the
sun went down. I took 15 or 20 shots of him, inching closer each time.
He finally spooked and coiled up. I figure he was 3.5 maybe 4 feet
long and the rule of thumb is that they can only strike 1/2 their length.
I was using my telephoto lens (the 130 mm on my old cannon A1 that I
shot kazillions of aerials with), so I was never with in his reach.
After shooting all angles with him coiled up, I ask myself, "Now What?
Do I run over him or leave him be?". "No, I thought. I've killed more
than my fair share of snakes". With that, I climbed in the truck in
crept up right beside him with my upper body hanging half out the
window. I was surprized that he let me drive right up beside him.
"Surely", I thought, "he'll run any minute". He just laid there like it
was his own front yard.
The shot on my web site was one of the last 2 or 3 I took from inside
my old Mazda pick looking almost straight down on him. In order to
get him in focus with that lens at that close range, I had to get as high
in my pick up cab as I could, folding myself into a contorted convoluted
freak show person. Actually, the shot is just barely in focus and is
cropped about 40% from the original image. I wish I had a shot of me
trying to make those last shots. I could have gotten out the right side,
climbed in the bed and on top of the cab, but I was afraid, he'd spook
and be gone.
Up to this point, other than coiling and rattling, he had shown very
little energy or inclination to move. It could be he was getting ready
to shed his skin and couldn't see very good. Maybe he had just polished
off a couple of field mice and just wanted to relax after a good meal.
At any rate, I was determined to see if he would strike my front tire.
Ever so gently I rolled up to him and then with a very easy rocking motion,
I first let the tire touch him. Not even a flinch! Then with the tire at
about a 30 degree angle to his body, I kept rocking a 1/4 of an inch at a
time, watching his skin start to roll down under the tire.
NOT A FLINCH! Rats! This was no fun.
It was getting dark and he was either one dumb snake or one tough son
of a Boa. So, with the impulse of a teenager, I backed up, drove around
him, and blew him a kiss as I went by (by now I was beginning to think
that HE might be a SHE snake and was waiting for me to pick her up).
She didn't blow me a kiss back, so I left her alone as I had found her to
dream her dreams and seek her own destiny. Never saw her again.
Damn good lookin snake, she was.
