Now that is a friendly little snake.

Yeah, gopher snakes might look like some rattlesnakes in their overall patterning, but they lack the rattle and their head is longer. Not a threat to humans or pets, probably a net plus in the garden (given their name and presumed diet). Though right now I bet they are eating lots of toads.

According to Wikipedia, gopher snakes will sometimes take advantage of their resemblance to rattlesnakes by coiling, shaking their tail, and even striking (with their mouth shut, so it's more like a headbutt). I guess there is some benefit from trying to look scary. But really not a threat.

A friend of ours was out walking his dog and ran across a real rattlesnake last week



It's not a great picture, but that's not the kind of situation where you want to hang around, especially with a pet in the vicinity. The rattlesnakes here are a serious threat and we will have to leash our dog on walks until the next rainy season.

Yikes, no 🐍 allowed here, I may need another sign in the garden

In here we will see cobra and python, once in awhile

I see a lot of Snakes at our place in NE Pennsylvania. We come across harmless Garter snakes, and we encounter the occasional 4 -5 foot Black Snake in our woods. And regarding the latter, having those in the rafters of the house keeps the Mouse population in check... so I hear!

Hamwild said: We live near a wooded lot so we encounter a few each year. I could do without the copperheads though. But, I don't mind the non-venomous ones.

I think this was the most interesting one I've found so far:

One of the most beautiful shades of green found in nature. Nothing quite like it!

Baja_Costero said:
According to Wikipedia, gopher snakes will sometimes take advantage of their resemblance to rattlesnakes by coiling, shaking their tail, and even striking (with their mouth shut, so it's more like a headbutt).

All the snakes in this area will mimic the rattlesnake here. They can really fool you if they are in some dry leaves. It's uncanny how they mimic it so well. I've been frozen in a spot until I could locate the source for the sound. First hand I've had copperheads, hog-nosed snakes (aka spreading adders), rat snakes, prairie racers, bull snakes and non-venomous water snakes all do it. Frankly, I think I've heard those rattle more than rattlesnakes. It's a complete myth that rattlesnakes always give advance warning. In fact, the rattle quite often is after a strike. They much prefer lying really still and quiet hoping you'll just pass them by. Not much telling how many times in my life I've done exactly that, too. I've gotten really close without seeing them and they've stayed motionless. As in my foot stepping within an inch or two of one - which makes the next step a really, really long one .

I am totally pro snake here (except for rattlesnakes), can't get enough of those weird little animals. A little like I am totally pro spider (except for black widows). Carnivores rule in the garden. But if we had cobras and pythons (or any kind of viper), I think I would view the situation differently.

The first time I encountered a rattlesnake I learned I have the ability to jump about 10 feet (away) without even thinking about it. Suddenly I was in a different and much better place. And my heart rate had just doubled.

Baja_Costero said:

The first time I encountered a rattlesnake I learned I have the ability to jump about 10 feet (away) without even thinking about it. Suddenly I was in a different and much better place. And my heart rate had just doubled.

Yep!

Funny!
I think Snakes get a bad reputation! As mentioned before, I prefer that beautiful black snake somewhere to the disgusting Mice crap. We don't live permanently in our "Pennsy -place", so keeping unwanted critters out of the house can be a chore. Like never leave any food open over night, never leave paper towels on the counter, things like that.
We had a porch added later to the house, one can see above the roof of that. It is closed up to the house.

And in the woods

I don't mind snakes (as long as I don't have to witness them swallowing one of my beloved toads or frogs). I never kill them ~ live and let live. Of course I must mention we do not have any poisonous snakes this far north (not yet anyway). Usually only have the common garter snakes around. Don't think I could handle the cobras, cottonmouth, rattlers, etc.

@tigerpaws

There are very few populated geographical locations that don't have at least several types of venomous snakes. Ireland is the most well known. I think it maybe doesn't have snakes of any kind? Some places just seem to have a lot - think Australia. I think more important may be the personalities of the snakes. The copperheads and rattlesnakes here are quiet and basically non-aggressive. If they had the temperament and curiosity displayed by the racers and rat snakes, there would be lot more people suffering with snakebites. Not to mention the brown water snakes. Just hateful and nasty temperaments. Naturally aggressive. Good thing they are non-venomous.

Yes, and the personalities of the snakes may change with the seasons. A rattlesnake may be easygoing and carefree here during the rainy season (more like zonked out and daydreaming) when food is more abundant, but by the end of the dry season they become cranky and aggressive. That is also when the foliage has turned brown and their camouflage is most effective. So we have learned to also modify our own behavior (and our dog's behavior) at that time of year.

You don't get hot enough, Baja. Too much heat will kill a rattlesnake. When the vegetation is dry and baked here, they seek someplace cool to hide in. Activity is mostly restricted to darkness then. Dogs, of course, poke around in the bushes and under things that might provide shade. I call it looking for trouble.

Isn't that what dogs are good at?

Hello have not posted Adeniums here for quite some time but check out "Gigi" Nancy is zone 5a, she germinated some of my seeds in October and growing them under grow lights. She beat me and was able to make this bloom in 6 months.





And this 'Tauntinia" I grow from my own hand pollinated seeds as well and a year old:

purpleinopp said: Tarev, this is what influenced me.

We were at Hobby Lobby yesterday, and saw again similar lego-like assembly for flowers...this time I got one, a rose..to see if I have the patience to do it:



Half way doing it, I realized I do not have the patience so, I asked my hubby to finish it up for me. And he actually enjoyed doing so..whew!

That's pretty @Tarev and best of all you don't have to keep it in water and will not wilt

And for those who do not visit Adenium forum, my Adenium garden is becoming more vibrant! And this is just a handful compared to the 100+ blooming size, still 90+ not blooming:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

https://garden.org/thread/view...

💕💕💕

I put folks inside today because it got down to 51 last night and they're wet from the rain yesterday. It's supposed to drop to 44 tonight and 49 tomorrow, so they'll stay inside until Wednesday.

I forgot to add that when I went to re-pot the Mammillaria plumosa the other week, it hardly had any roots. So, it is sitting low in a shallow pot with not a lot of potting soil. My Mom potted it in some cactus soil she bought that has a little bit of potting mix and a lot of tiny lava rock (or, I think it was lava rock. Some kind of rock), but it stayed too wet. It may have been because it was also in a plastic pot. I'm unsure how many roots it had when she got it, as it was shipped bare root from a seller on Etsy.

And when I went to re-pot my baby Parodia scarlet balls, their roots were so vast, I couldn't move them from a 1" pot to a 2" pot, so they went in 3" pots. They look tiny in their pots, but they have a ton of roots.