Late this afternoon, I was letting Trixie in through the back door after a quick toilet break. (I'd decided the kingsnake was either out of the yard or deep in hiding, as I haven't seen it since before noon.) She ran right past/jumped right over a juvenile water moccasin! (!!!) On our back porch! (!!!) Just a foot or two from our door! (!!!)
We don't think she even saw it, and thank goodness it wasn't threatened enough to try to bite her.
Donald was home, so he went out to "take care of it" with the garden hoe.
I don't relish killing animals for no reason, but venomous snakes in my yard get no mercy. We have dogs to protect (not to mention ourselves). The fact that we see these so often also tells me that there must be plenty of them to spare, around here.
For those interested, here's a photo (with a bit censored to make it less gruesome):
So, again, watch our for snakes! Even on your very doorstep...
