Slow Down and the Mom Voice

I believe in the “mom voice.” You know that little voice inside your head that asks, “Did you turn off the coffeemaker?” “Is the frotn door locked?”

It is also the voice that says, “Hmmm, it’s been tooooo quiet better see what the kids are doing.” Well, on a recent hike along the East Fork Backpacking Trail my mom voice was screaming “DO NOT STEP DOWN! If you look closely at the photo you will see those aren’t all sticks!

In fact, that curvy stick is actually a snake.

A snake that the heel of my boot was just touching as my mom voice roared to life. I must have looked pretty funny doing a cartoonish-like slow motion reverse steps back up the small hill. When I was about five feet away I sat down to catch my breath.I’m not particularly afraid of snakes. Ticks, leeches, and slugs creep me out but not snakes. But this one I nearly squashed. Once I caught my breath, I decided the least he or she could do was a photo shoot for me. Here are the results.

 

The Ohio Division of Wildlife has a great guide online to look through to identify critters of all kinds. Here is the primary link to the site, you’ll need to click on the type of animal you are trying to identify.