California Kingsnake



 

Earlier this summer, I saw a huge kingsnake stretched out across the straw in the end stall of the barn.  With the burgeoning mouse population out there for a snake to feed on, I imagine it's an ideal place for a hungry snake to take up residence. 

 

 

 

I didn't see it again until the other evening when I was planting chrysanthemums in front of the house.  Bruce was startled to see this lovely yellow-ringed boy (or girl) laying languidly on the concrete in front of the stalls.  I ran for my camera and the snake obligingly stayed put so I could take its picture.  He/she is very fat and sleek and one of the longest snakes I've seen around here -- this is what comes from the fine dining to be found in our barn!



Eventually the snake grew tired of being admired and slowly sidled over to the barn siding, where it slid along the crack, towards the edge of the concrete.  From there it dropped down, inch by inch, to the ground and then disappeared around the corner. 







A lot of snake

Kingsnakes get their name because they are the only snake that will kill and eat rattlesnakes -- a major reason why they're so enthusiastically welcomed by people in these rattler infested foothills.  I appreciate them for this reason too.  But mostly I think that they're just really pretty. Reptilian eye-candy, you might say.