Very cool LB!

That's a beauty of a snake, LB. All I ever seem to see in the wild are little garter snakes.

Mendalla

By Satan's left quim that snake is a looker! :3  LBmuskoka, more proof that you indeed live in Paradise.

Folks, here is an Eastern Hognose in action:

Very Nice!

Well I'm glad some can appreciate the beauty of this creature!  She (for now I think about it, it could be a she as the Hognose apparently likes to lay its eggs in sandy soil and while weeding the day before I had a brief sighting of its large body gliding under the patio stones) is beautiful and quite large, I would estimate around 3 feet long and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. 

I suspect she raised her head and puffed at the dog from the very loud hissing that I could hear but I refrained from approaching during that brouhaha for fear the dog - not the snake - would become more aggressive in defending me.  The most aggression I got was a slightly raised head and low annoyed hisses as I kept my distance at about 10' and moved quietly. 

She stayed in the same spot for quite some time, indeed so long I started to worry she was hurt, but eventually she moved on as silently as she had arrived....

Its days like yesterday I really love living where I do.

Here is one more shot that shows off her lovely triangle shaped head and markings

Beautiful snake, LBmuskoka and great photos.

I have a few garter snakes and some milk snakes around my place.
They often surprise me while I'm working in flower beds.

I am concerned, though, because I am seeing fewer and fewer snakes and wonder the reasons.

Hey lb - I've sent your pics off to my brother-in-law who's a specialist in snakes & amphibians ...  will let you know what he says!  C.

Thank you Carolla - I have more lots more pics :-)

Hi lb - here's the reply from Wayne ...  and I will wondermail you his e-mail if you want to provide a location for him - I think he's involved with keeping an atlas record of locations of various snakes & amphibs - that's why he's probably asking.

this is indeed a hognose snake.  Wonderful photos!.  These snakes are not common, and rarely seen.  They generally hunt at night, and eat toads.  One this size is quite rare too.  Hognose snakes will flatten the head and hiss, but very rarely strike and bite.  If not left alone, they will roll over and play dead.  When they think it’s safe, they’ll roll back over and move away.  It’s an amazing sight to see.  I’ve had the good fortune of seeing the entire sequence just once.   Would your friend be kind enough to provide as precise location as they feel comfortable in doing? 

Thank you Carolla, I should have read this before sending my email to your brother.

I'm now very excited about my new neighbour and hope she/he wasn't too bothered by dogs and amateur photographers that it decided to move on.  Hopefully the desirable quantity of toads will offset the nosey neighbours for her :-)

She (I have decided I'm calling it a she until a positive gender is confirmed) didn't roll over - darn I would have liked to see that - but that trait does explain why she wouldn't move for so long.  Perhaps we didn't annoy her all that much!

LB

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And voices in me said, If you were a man
You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.

But must I confess how I liked him,
How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough
And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless,
Into the burning bowels of this earth?

Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?
Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?
Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
I felt so honoured.

       D. H. Lawrence, Snake

COOL!

Wow LBmuskoka, that is a heck of a snake. My wife cannot look at it, she is even asceered of worms.

That is a beauty of a snake!

We have some rock walls at our place and one year happened to be home when I guess a huge nest of garter snakes came out for spring.  I bet there were 1000 snakes all milling around in the sun.  It was fascinating and then surprising that after about an hour they just disappeared.  WE continue to see a few each year but have never seen the emerging again.

With Garters the big ones are female and the little ones are male, you can see all the males swarm a female in heat or whatever it is called.

So that makes me think yours is a female.

Maybe you'll see babies!

Heh, SG your wife is definitely in the majority when it comes to the emotional response to snakes - which I have always found interesting because the vast majority, like my Hognose, are completely harmless and vulnerable even.

Perhaps it is because I now view these creatures, snakes and insects, through the camera lens in a way that lets me get close enough to see their hidden beauty but I have become completely enamoured by them - although I still have enough fear to remain respectful and keep a safe distance.

Lastpointe, I also have garters in my garden and when I caught the first brief glimpse thought that it was a large one.  Sadly, according to my new snake expert friend identifying the Hognose's gender is not easy as the males and females have similar characteristics so I am left to wonder.

I have been told they are nocturnal hunters so I may not get another chance to see her again but I am glad I got this opportunity.

LB

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Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.

     Ansel Adams