Tag: Snakes

The Importance of Not Jumping to Conclusions

A mistaken identity can cause an assortment of problems, especially for the subject of the incorrect assumption. The misidentified individual may be credited with negative attributes which have no basis in reality. In fiction, a plot about erroneous identification has delivered many hours of entertainment for the readers. Even Hollywood has used the falsely accused…Read more

A Harmless Snake in the Grass

Words are a curious human creation. Each has at least one meaning or implication for the listener. The terms used today date back to long before recorded history began. Countless academics have postulated and theorized as to how these oral identifiers have migrated and evolved through the millennia to arrive at the languages used today….Read more

When You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Trick ‘Em

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” wrote Charles Caleb Colton. Colton was a sometimes cleric, essayist, wine merchant and gambler who bounced around Europe and North America during the early 19th century. It is likely many of his financial lenders hoped the public would not imitate his borrowing practices. Aside from his few literary…Read more

If Red Touches Black, It Is a Friend of Jack

The warmer weather’s approach has many residents of the panhandle believing the winter of 2021/22 is soon to be finished, and it might be.  The nightly ruckus of toads and frogs staking out their territory becomes louder each evening, and even mosquitos have returned in small numbers. Unseen in most cases, but just as active…Read more

Rat Snakes: Pest Control with a Catch

The blooms and leaves have confirmed the year’s progress towards the summer. The rising temperatures and lengthening days have been a boon to the birds and animals, too. The return of actively growing and tender foliage is supporting the expanding bug population. Whether considered benign or malevolent, the terrestrial arthropods are progressing across the land…Read more

Sluggish Slitherers: Snakes in Spring

On the still days after late winter cold fronts pass through north Florida, the silence beyond suburbia can be thunderous. Only the occasional puff of wind in the pines and the crunch of dried leaves underfoot shatters the quiet. The appearance of lifeless tranquility is gradually withdrawn as the sun climbs in the southern sky…Read more