Snake!

Molly and I saw our first water moccasin of the year this afternoon on our daily walk to the creek. I had suspected something was down there in our previous walks. I never saw anything but I could hear a splash as something hit the water. My suspicion was confirmed when I happened to see the snake jump off the bank out of the corner of my eye and land in the water. It was black, about three feet long, and very thick around the middle and had those beady little snake eyes. They just look vicious. Water moccasins are aggressive snakes and they are not exactly loners. Where there is one there is usually several more.

My immediate response as I jumped about two feet in the air was "Holy shit, cat! That was a snake!" I have no idea where I came up with "cat" since I was with my dog Molly but that is what came out. In the excitement of the moment, I don't think Molly objected to being referred to as a cat, but we were both surprised when the moccasin did a swan dive off the bank into the water. I did not know snakes did things like that. She did not pay the snake much attention but we made a hasty retreat up the trail. I was paranoid as hell after that but Molly took it all in stride. Fear is a great motivator. She has never had a run in with a snake before and I want to keep it that way. Thinking they are there and knowing they are there are two completely different things. I believe we have taken our last walk to the creek for a while.