A little thrill ran up my spine when I noticed the Common Garter Snake. It was studying me calmly beside my front door. After a long pause, it slid underneath the steps.
It looks like the reptile is living well in my front garden! My house shelters its life along with my own. I’m pleased.
A boy named Boots
It was lucky, the way I learned about snakes. It’s one of my earliest memories. We lived in Des Plaines, Illinois, in a brick house on a residential street. It was a small town then. Next door, an empty lot had un-mowed grass that reached to my chest. My mother let me play there. She could see me out the kitchen window. I was three years old.
Often a neighbor boy, named Boots, was out there too. He was taller than me. Five years old, a big boy.
Boots had a talent: he caught snakes. We walked together through the tall grass. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and sprang back up holding a garter snake. The snaked squirmed and curved around in Boots’ hands.
I stretched out to touch the snake. Its skin was dry but smooth, and its lithe strength impressed me. I loved Boots and his skill with snakes.
One day Boots put a garter snake over my head and draped it around the back of my neck. “That looks great! Go show your mother.”
The snake was still around my shoulders when I met my mother coming down the back steps two at a time with her apron on.
She seemed surprised.
Looking back, I think she must have made an effort not to scare me. She reached slowly but firmly toward me, but the snake slid instantly down my overalls and disappeared into bushes.
I bless my mother to this day. She did not spoil that wonderful encounter with a snake.
Snakes in the garden
Several snake species live in my garden, but mostly I see Garter Snakes. Sometimes when I pull away the tarp that covers the compost heap, I find one curled around comfortably, forming a sort cradle of its own body. I think it’s gotten used to me, as it stays in place now, unless I make too much disturbance near it.
Garter Snakes reward me for the way I’ve cultivated my garden. Many forms of life live there, including insects, frogs, and mice. The soil is varied, with crevices and undisturbed hiding places. And it’s free from poisons.
Plain facts about Garter Snakes
Garter Snakes are harmless, timid animals. They have no venom. They seldom bite people, unless they’re being handled roughly. Even in that case, the bite is supposed to feel like a mild pinch.
An adult is 18 to 26 inches long. It has pale or yellowish stripes down the back and sides that look like garters that men once wore to hold their socks up. That’s how it got its common name.
They live in grassy areas, wetlands, woods, along streams, and in vacant city lots. They’re active during the day, and it’s not unusual to encounter them if you spend time outdoors. In a cold climate, they can wait out the winter in a burrow dug by a rodent.
It is a great good fortune to be able cautiously to enjoy the beauty of snakes. However, about 3% of people suffer from a shuddering fear at the sight or even the mention of any kind of snake.
This exaggerated fright response is not considered to be innate to humans but a result of conditioning, usually in childhood. Scream in terror at the sight of a snake, and the little kid who is watching you is very likely going to be scared of snakes forever. A child who is told that snakes are creepy or evil may always view snakes with horror.
I’ve been lucky. Throughout my life, snakes have brought me enormous enjoyment and interest. I thank Boots for that.
And my dear mother.
Sometime before my 5th birthday, I walked into the kitchen with a pocketful of baby garter snakes that my older brother had helped me catch. Instantly, my mother was up on a chair, screaming, and my dad was in a chair, chuckling… at least, that was how my dad told it.
As a kid, my daughter loved to catch red-sided garter snakes, make a little home for them and observe them for the day. On one of those days, she caught a snake in the morning, we went out for an errand and when we returned, there were around 15 baby snakes. What a surprise to see that they give live birth!
The occasional water snake in my pond discourages most friends from joining me in a swim. It is hard to convince them that the snakes keep their distance, and I keep mine. Mutual coexistence.
Thank you Diane for the wonderful story! Like most everyone else, I have several fun snake stories. I too have been known as the person who will take care of snakes when needed.
One of my favorite stories was when my 3 little girls were preschool to early elementary age. I had put them down for an afternoon nap, their rooms were located in a walkout basement. Before long I hear a lot of commotion in the basement and went to see why they were not napping. I hear them all yelling "there is a snake!"... Like all mothers, I figured they were playing a trick on me. However, they were quite right...in the hall was a brown ground snake. These are maybe 8-10" long. I promptly picked up the snake a put it in a trash can to take outside. However, I decided to keep it briefly and take it to the girls school the next morning to share with their classmates. My oldest daughter does not like snakes, but is very respectful of those that live in her yard.