[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 12:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Yup. We have snakes. I've also had iguanas in the backyard.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I enjoy a Florida writer named Carl Hiaasen. According to him, there aren't many invasive species that you can't find in Florida. Snowbirds included.

[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Couple of years ago we started getting lion fish in the reefs. Like we needed one more poison water thingy.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
And they destroy native species... What kind of doofus turns exotics loose?

[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
White trash. Tons of that. Same way the snakes got out. Same way the iguanas got out. Same reason we have a Monkey Island. Wild parrots and parakeets. Blah, blah, blah, ain't nuthin' like a pet to bring out the irresponsibility of a person.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-14 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
The ignorant and lazy should be tagged with warning labels.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-15 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
ROTFL! Love it!

[identity profile] scoobiedoggie.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
I freaked out when I found a garter snake in my house once....I would probably pee my pants if I found a python

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm leery of boas and pythons, but I fet along with garter snakes. I have one in the garden again this year. I leave him alone, and he ignores me. I had a problem with Clayton picking my green tomatoes, so I made up an errand that took him right to Ray Garter Snake was sunning himself among the romas. He, he, he-Clayton hasn't destroyed any more tomatoes in that patch.

[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I won't even tell you about black racers and their tendency to chase you. Nope. Won't even say a word.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
What? I'd never heard that. Both black racers and black rat snakes are called black snakes. We have several big ones on the property, and they have different personalities. Eli, an 8 footer, would let you pick him up and move him around. Vernon, a 6 footer, gets testy when you try to move him out of the flower beds.

[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-14 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Black racers have that cockroach mentality. They lunge at you, making YOU move so they can get away. And nippy! SO nippy! Joke's on them. I'm not easily moved by a big worm with attitude so I stand my ground and giggle. The babies are even cuter when they do that!

I've never seen a black rat snake. Isn't that interesting? We're suppose to have them here, but never seen one.

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-15 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
Black rat snakes have slightly keeled scales, while black racers have smooth ones. It's easy to mistake them for one another.

Have you ever heard of the Hognose Snake, AKA the Puff Adder? They aren't poisonous, but will puff up when threatened in an attempt to look scary. They'll also play dead, and end up truly dead when some redneck, unable to tell one snake from another and looking for a chance to kill something, chops them to bits. Duck had one that lived underneath his sawmill for many years.

[identity profile] cinnamonbite.livejournal.com 2009-07-15 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Whoa, whoa, whoa, the puff adder is the most venomous snake in Africa! Holy shit, that's NOTHING like a little hognose snake!

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-15 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/heterodonplatirhinos.htm
Hognose snakes are called puff adders. Of course the African Puff Adder is a different animal.

[identity profile] wherrymotor.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Could they can't develop a taste for politicians and investment bankers?

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-12 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL. Appearently not; some politicians would turn a snake's stomach.

[identity profile] rhodielady-47.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 09:35 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, snakes don't eat politicians as a professional curtesy.
:)

[identity profile] ladyapple27.livejournal.com 2009-07-14 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
snicker. All too true.

[identity profile] eqfe.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
No but apparently they will eat alligators.

[identity profile] wherrymotor.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
So do we, although not whole.
Must be smallish gators, eh?
Rugged stuff out there!

[identity profile] wherrymotor.livejournal.com 2009-07-14 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
Better: richer, but not gamey - maybe like a mature, "free range" fowl? Nah, that's not it either. Of course, when you start with a roux etc., you naturally build in a particular taste in everything that goes in after.