Bull SNAKE .... !

Cutting through the field to see the horses the other morning I heard a hiss and the grass rattle, turned to look and there was a bull snake with his head pulled back and his mouth open.  If I hadn't known we had bull snakes on the ranch and that they weren't poisonous - I would have been back in the yard in a single bound.  As it was, I hot footed it back to the house .... to get the camera!

When I heard we had bull snakes on the ranch and that they were our friends (rodent and rattle snake control), I'd did some research.  I learned that bull snakes try to imitate rattlers (noise and ferocity); however, do not use venom to kill their prey. 

And I realized that on my walk through the pasture, I'd frightened him as much as he'd frightened me.
A couple of weeks ago I found a discarded snake skin in the same general area, I'm thinking this is the snake that grew out of the skin I found.  Looked to be about 3 or 4 feet long.

Bull snakes coloring and camouflage is amazing

Can you see the snake in the picture below?

Here he/she is ....

The snake in this photo ....?

Right here!

Pretty cool - huh?!!!

In case you are wondering - when I go walking, I now pay a little more attention (translate to: keep an eye out for snakes) to what is on the ground ... after all, you never know what you are going to find!