Ringneck Snake, a good one to help get over snake-phobia if you have it. A snake couldn't be gentler. Now my son has a 4-foot-long corn snake that behaves the same way.[Added August 4, continuation of previous post.]
Today's choice of photos, a series of a Ringneck Snake, is an example of this conundrum. I am struck by the beauty of the bright orange belly and ring around the neck. Looking closer, I am intrigued by the hexagonal scales and their resemblance to a bee's honeycomb. I am also impressed by the snake's gentle nature. It never attempted to bite, and it "trustingly" wrapped itself around my son's finger rather than attempt to escape. As tiny and gentle as this snake is, it still stirs some people's phobia, and the image of it wrapped around a finger suggests boa constrictor. It must be trying to suffocate him!
Last week in camp, several people came running up to me shouting, "there's a snake in the flower bed." As camp naturalist, I was expected to do something about it. It turned out to be a very young gopher snake and, admittedly, it resembled a baby rattler. I picked it up and let it crawl from one hand to the other a few times and it quickly calmed down, never attempting to bite. Some of the kids present saw the snake's calmness and asked if they could hold it, and I agreed to let them. As soon as one youngster held the snake, it made a slightly quick move (not an attempt to bite) and the boy reflexively tossed the snake away. It landed on the cement patio - ouch! - and quickly crawled away.
So, perhaps I've strayed pretty far from the topic of aesthetics, or perhaps not. For me, knowledge about a snake makes it more interesting, and more interesting equals more beautiful.
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