Snake in My Garage

It had been quite a while since I had seen a snake.  All of a sudden, they are everywhere.  The other day I saw what I thought was a garter snake in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation.  A couple of days later I saw another one. It has been warm for a couple of months and no snakes at all, till now.

As a photographer, I spend a lot of time trying to get special shots.  Some days you can go all day and get nothing special.  Other days you get an abundance of good stuff.  I guess it's like gambling.  If you win, it is exciting so you try, again and again, to repeat that moment of elation. 

About a week ago, as I was leaving the Audubon Swamp, two tourists came up to me and showed me a video they captured of a snake.  The video followed the snake from the water, up a tree and poised to enter one of the large bird boxes attached to the tree.  The video showed the snake ready to enter the hole and just when it started toward the hole, the mother bird came flying out, leaving the eggs or young hatchlings in the box.  I did not really want to see more since I spend much of my time photographing all types of birds.  I know it is the way of nature but I don't have to like it.  I had been walking around that place for fifteen days in the last six weeks and saw nothing that good.  They certainly got their $8 worth.

So, to make a short story longer, fast forward to Tuesday afternoon, May 29th.  I always try to remember to take my camera with me wherever I go.  As I pulled into my driveway, I noticed a snake.  It was about 36 inches long, striped and minding its' own business.  So, I grabbed my camera to get a shot of it.

After a few shots, from a righteous distance, it started to make its way toward my closed garage door.  I picked up a stick and tried to scoop it up and drop it in the bushes.  Of course, it made a beeline for my garage.  I tried again to divert it but it slipped through a tiny hole at the edge of the garage door.  By the time I was able to go back to my car and raise the garage door it was...who knows where.  I spent the better part of an hour trying to find it with no luck.

Someone at the Charleston County Public Library reference desk was able to identify it as a harmless ribbon snake.  I had been calling them garter snakes but, hey, it IS the library and they know their snakes.

I know it is not as exciting as watching Animal Planet or Syfy but, hey, you gotta take your excitement wherever you can get it.  So, if anyone lost a ribbon snake, you can contact me as noted below, especially if there is a reward. 

Michael Kaynard is a local photographer living in West Ashley.  You can view his photos at http://kaynardphotography.webs.com.  He can be reached at mkaynard@gmail.com or 843-412-2299.