Most of my work is done from home, though I am required to be at the lab at some point each day. Being holed up means doing more cleaning and organizing. Very recently, in a box in the garage, I unearthed an old story I wrote when I was fourteen. It's a story about my field herping adventure in Georgia that year (1996). Sitting down to read it sort of helped me to forget all that is going on in the world today. It's pure innocence, it's ignorance, it's discovery, it's boyhood in an era predating handheld devices and social media and 9/11.
I'll transcribe the short story here. I realize after reading it that even though it reads like a singular story, it's actually several outings condensed into one story. Knowing this helps make sense as to why some allopatric species are found in the same area in the story. Also, rest assured that following our dumb idea to "keep" some of the snakes we caught, each snake was eventually released back into the wild.
The Great Snake-Hunt
During the visit to central Georgia in July/August 1996, I was to encounter many surprises. Besides coming to visit my best friend, Daniel, and his family, and to possibly go to see the Olympics, my goal was to have a successful snake hunt with my best friend.
On our first day, we set off in the woods with our packs which held our necessities. Band-aids, water, a knife, a flashlight, pillow cases, extra sweaters, some food, and some other little things. I carried my trusty snake-stick. We started off lifting up dried stumps (there was a drought so many moisture-loving snakes stayed cool under logs) and sifting through weeds. We encountered several skinks and an anole on one tree.
Our first snake came quite by surprise. While walking and searching for possible stump holes, Daniel saw a snake through the corner of his eye. It was an eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake! I figured this was too far for my league, and continued the search.
We reached the large pond we occasionally visited. On a beached box, we both found 4 feet of basking northern water snake! I thought I'd stick with snakes that are easier to catch. This was fun so far!
One stump that I lifted uncovered a section of coil from an unidentified snake. It was escaping by going down an animal hole. So close yet so far!
The first snake we actually "caught" was just an eastern garter snake, which was actually quite docile and didn't even defecate on me (like they usually do). I put the 2-foot serpent in a pillow case and tied it to my belt. Almost immediately, Daniel found two eastern box turtles devouring berries that had fallen from a bush. We just photographed these two specimens and then returned them to their feast.
It was a long time until we found our next snake. We were searching in a large, empty, brightly-lit church parking lot. It was about 11:00 PM and we were ready.
I was looking by the foundation of the church and spotted several American, southern, and Fowler's toads. I found an anole by the bright light feasting on the bugs and insects that flew around the light. I started to walk towards the edge of the woods when Daniel called me to come over quick. I looked where he was pointing, and there was a beautiful eastern kingsnake (it seems like all the snakes' names started with "eastern"!) that was about 14 inches long. I grabbed it and it bit me hard on my wrist. I put the small vicious snake in a pillowcase. We then decided we would call it a night and we came home and set the garter and kingsnake up in aquariums (separate aquariums!).
The next morning I woke up at 6:00 to have an early start at hunting. I got dressed and checked on the snakes. I loved that kingsnake!
Daniel was really tired and didn't want to wake up. I finally got him up. I packed breakfast (Nutri-Grain bars) in my backpack and set off with Daniel.
It was a nice day. It rained last night, so I was excited about finding new creatures. We walked past a large clump of bushes and heard some commotion. Daniel told me it was doves and later we would go dove hunting. In an open field, I also saw a large red-tailed hawk and two great blue herons. I love great blue herons.
Our first great find was found while sifting through some dead leaves. I was surprised to find a southern red-backed salamander in the process of devouring an earthworm! I waited until it was finished, then caught it and put it in a small plastic box that I occasionally put very small snakes in. I studied, admired, and identified it, then turned it loose. It walked away clumsily under a stick and some leaves.
Daniel, on the other hand, was luckier than I this time. He found a large rock with Indian markings on it! I photographed it, then went on.
We walked to a dead tree where the bark was ripped off, probably eaten by a deer. A five-lined skink sat on the tree, collecting moisture. Daniel couldn't stand just seeing it, he had to catch it! He caught it and it squirmed and wiggled and then bit his finger. Daniel let out a small yell of surprise. It didn't really hurt. I'm surprised it didn't drop its tail! Daniel wanted to keep it, although the five-lined skink is the most abundant skink in the area. He put it in the clear plastic box. I lifted a log and found a very large, black beetle. I wanted to keep it, so, not knowing much about skinks, put the beetle in with the skink. The skink quickly darted for it and swallowed it. Daniel was shocked, and named "his" skink Jaws.
The next animal we found was a snake. And it was the gem of our trip. Looking inside an abandoned squirrel's nest in a tree, I could barely make out several orange coils. Hoping it would be what I thought it was, I placed the end of the snake stick in the hole, squeezed the handle, and gently yet firmly pulled out a 6-foot long corn snake! It was beautiful. Me and Daniel were awestruck. It seems wild corn snakes are even prettier in the wild than captive-born corns. The serpent lunged at my face with the force of a Super Soaker 1000! I quickly bagged it and wiped my brow with my shirt. My dream had come true!
When we got back to the house, we only had one aquarium left, so Daniel was forced to release his dear little skink. It was hard to say goodbye, even though he had it for only two hours. All in all, the three snakes in our collection made me and Daniel feel proud. We wanted more, though, but didn't have any more cages. The kingsnake had a 10-gallon tank, so did the garter snake. The corn snake had a 55-gallon tank. Daniel found a garbage can that was tall and metal. This would make a good temporary quarters.
Sadly to say, the beautiful corn snake was the last snake we caught on that trip, although we both saw cottonmouths, a black rat snake, a mole kingsnake (that quickly dodged into a hole), many skinks and assorted anoles, two alligators, many frogs and toads (which we put in the garbage can), and several salamanders. The only D.O.R.s we saw were several box turtles, an unidentifiable snake, and an anole. This was a great trip, indeed.
The end.
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