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Serpent!

Patricia LesleyPatricia Lesley
edited August 2016 in Writing
I saw a brown coiling tube about seventy five centimetres long slither into the undergrowth on Back Hills, near my home this morning.

Comments

  • LizLiz
    Grass snake. Lucky you!
  • LizyLizy
    I ran over one once on my bike. When I turned round to check, it was sliding away unharmed. Tough creatues, snakes!
  • LizLiz
    I'm not sure you could say for sure it was unharmed. They are basically just a spine and muscles, its muscles which were probably traumatised and probably would swell after and for several hours - that could have impeded its ability to slither away or get prey successfully. Unless its spine was broken it wouldn't have stopped to check its injuries.
  • LizyLizy
    I knew as soon as I'd commented that you'd make me feel bad about it, Liz!

    Mind you, I didn't do it on purpose, and it was foty years ago so it would be dead by now anyway!
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    The cats down south chased a large snake across the garden, when the harvest was going on. They batted its tail to make it move, and then all sat around it in a circle, watching it warily. Mr Bear had to take it away with the aid of a large rake.

    We think it was the harmless sort that used to bask on my side of the track when we went walking: that was when we found I could levitate. I don't like metre-long slithery creatures.

    Mr B went to open the garage door one day, and a thin turquoise snake slithered down from the vine that grew there, right in front of his face. He has quite a turn of speed, when pressed.
  • LizLiz
    This is very true, Lizy, I didn't mean you'd done it on purpose, just it's very hard to tell if a wild animal is harmed or not by looking at it , unless it is truly very poorly indeed. Slithering snakes can get up quite a speed, if you'd avoided it you'd have come off and broken something ourself.

    Turquoise! How lovely! i always expect Europe to have the same creatures as us. Goodness knows why I know perfectly well they have all manner of creatures we would deem exotic.
  • Patricia LesleyPatricia Lesley
    edited August 2016
    Thanks for all the comments. I reckon the one I saw was a grass snake as Liz noted. Adders have a zig-zag line on their backs. Anyway I was thrilled and wished for a closer look but the snake vanished. Regarding Mrs B's words; a native of Roussillon told me that small snakes are the region's grumpy ones.
  • C2C2
    Grumpy snakes! O:-) wouldn't want to tread on one of those little lovelies, then.
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    Yes, it was one of the grumpy ones - but not as grumpy as Mr Bear in rapid reverse.
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