I concur that it is a hognose snake. They are not doing too well anymore (many ground nesting snakes are declining) so it's nice to see them!

Dorothy I sure enjoyed reading that one. could not wait to find out what came next...man I have not read that fast in a long while lol Thanks for the laugh Lucy

Sorry folks, but snakes do not stay at my address, whatever kind they are, if I see them. At least three children have gotten bitten by copperheads this spring/summer in our area, and needed to be lifeflighted to Hershey Medical Centerl. I have not heard how they are fairing. We put in a fairly large preformed pond several years ago, and a lot of the garter snakes in the area decided to pay a visit. They were at least 3' long and as thick around as a quarter. If they would stay small I could get along with them better. I know they are beneficial, but I don't want them in the garden where I can reach on them. I do not like killing them so we no longer have the pond. We put in a fountain instead. I want toads around to take care of the bugs, not snakes to take care of the toads. I like to view them in displays, and I think a rattlesnake has beautiful markings, but that is as close as I want to get - on the outside of the case. Jane

Jo, any time you catch and release a critter, you can pretty well plan on it coming back. It's fine to be a humanitarian about it, just as long as you know that's what they're going to do. I think that some of them can beat you back to the property, and dumping them where they'll be a problem for someone else is not a very good plan either. I hate to have to shoot things, but there are times when it's really the only thing to do. Dawn, I know what you mean abut every day being an adventure. When I went out to check the tomatoes earlier, I found a small turtle that was feasting on a small fruit I had tossed aside. Not a terrapin. An actual turtle. I just left him alone. One of the more exciting things that happened is that I have a big bank of windows in front of my computer and around to the side, so I get a really good view of most of the pasture. One day during the heavy snow, in the middle of the afternoon, I saw something swoop down and grab a small prey and then fly up to the top of one of the sheds. I figured it was a hawk. Naturally, I got out the big binocs, because I wanted a closer look. Imagine my amazement when he turned his head and looked at me and I realized it was not a hawk at all. It was a huge owl, out hunting in mid-day! As far as those black snakes, we tried the artificial eggs, and I tried jamming the holes full of bird netting, and we shot a bunch of them. I was horrified to learn that they can kill a full-grown hen. My neighbor who raises chickens as a business is the one who told me what the problem was, after I had him come and look at a dead bird. What seemed to finally cut the population way down was when I put out that Snake Stopper powder. I've only done it once, and probably need to renew it pretty soon, but we haven't found a snake in the chickenhouse since then. Not that they can't come in and steal eggs and leave again. I just haven't seen any of them this summer. I scattered the powder when I figured snake season was about to begin, as soon as it really warmed up, and it seems to be working.. Pat