Coral Snake

Nora and I were taking our normal morning hike through Crescent Bend yesterday when all of a sudden she says snake. We both stopped. I looked to where she was pointing and sure enough there it was. Snake, a beautiful snake, in colors that seemed unreal they were so vibrant and unnatural. 

I have seen the browns and greys and tawny shades of rattlesnakes, ball pythons and red boas. But the reds and yellows nestled against the black stripes on this guy were stunning. Red and yellow, something about that triggered a memory of a warning. I relaxed as I tried to remember. The first line came readily to my mind as it is the most important part of the rhyme.

Red Touch Yellow - Kills a Fellow

Red Touch Black - Venom Lack

Yellow Touches Red - Soon You'll Be Dead

Red Touches Black - Friend of Jack

What we had happened upon was a Texas Coral snake. I said the line out loud; Nora and I took a step back. The snake that had slithered to the side of the pavement stopped when we stopped. Nora got out her phone to snap a photo.  As she was getting it an SUV rumbled down the road and slowed as he neared us and our refusal to move to the edge of the pavement. The snake must have been able to feel the vibrations of the large vehicle and he decided to retreat so. Into the grass and toward the forest he went. The vehicle stopped and a man climbed out to have a look at the snake I had called a Coral snake. “Yep, red touch yellow kills a fellow; it is a Coral snake alright.” He walked right up within 2 feet of the animal. Nora and I had only braved to about 4 feet. The old man told us he had seen two other Coral snakes at various places in the park.

 This one was about 2feet long. He got away before Nora got the photo and we were not about to follow him into the tall grass. Of course now I was curious about Coral snakes. I had only seen them in a zoo. It seemed to me that the one I wild had more vibrant color. Maybe it was the overcast sky, maybe there was no glass between us, maybe it was heightened vision on my part, and maybe it was just a healthier specimen who ate his natural prey. Which was…? What?  Shall we discover together?

What we ventured upon was a Micrurus tener  or Texas coral snake. They average about 2 feet. Coral snakes are elusive and tend to nestle under dead dry leaves or underground. They do come out after rain or during mating season. It had been raining all weekend. Coral snakes are venomous with small fangs either in the front of their moths that are hollow. These fangs are very short and usually cannot penetrate leather. They feed on smaller snakes, lizards, and frogs. Unlike vipers who strike and retreat a Coral snake will hold on to its victim. They are non-aggressive and are not prone to biting. They have one of the most potent venoms of any North American snake. But only 15-25 bites are recorded annually. The venom contains a powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes breathing muscles and respiratory failure will occur within hours.

Well, now we know. We are not on their diet and they prefer to run than fight.

On a different adventure I went to see Iron Man 3. I laughed and laughed. There were many funny parts. As I was laughing and having a good time at one point near the beginning of the film the entire audience as one unit turned to look at me. PEOPLE!!!! It is a movie, it was meant to be funny. It comes from a comic book!!!! Comic – from the Greek word kōmikós -  meaning characterized by comedy, provoking laughter, humorous, funny.

It is not a reality show!!!! It is joyously, wonderfully, irrationally a MOVIE!!!! I love it!

Onward to golf tournament door prizes today.

What is on your agenda?