WARNING: This blog entry is not for the squeamish.

Having been a hiker, runner, jogger, walker, and camper all my life, and having grown up in Texas, I'm very conscious of the wildlife that's around me when I'm hiking, running, jogging, walking, or camping, and I wear appropriate clothes. No nude hiking or camping!

A couple of days ago I had gone out with my new toy, a Canon Rebel XSi camera, to test out its various functions and the four lenses that I bought with it.

I was specifically out looking for wildlife and trying to catch birds in flight, closeups, etc. I got a bird taking off from a branch, and I caught a good picture of a helicopter up there in the sky, but my pride and joy from that three-hour walk was this little fellow:

Since I know my snakes, I knew that this was a bull snake (Pituophis catenifer sayi), a non-venomous snake that generally is recognized as the second-longest snake in the United States, sometimes -- albeit rarely -- reaching up to 100 inches long. Generally they get about six feet long, which is my estimate for this little fellow. Bull snakes sometimes eat rattlesnakes, yet they also are sometimes mistaken for rattlesnakes, resulting in this beneficial snake being killed by the snake-ignorant (snake-ignorant? I like that).

The longest snake in the United States is the blue indigo, also a rattlesnake eater. For a cool series of pictures of a blue indigo actually eating a rattlesnake, click here. And for my own remembrance of my time with a blue indigo pet, click here.

The bull snake in the photo refused to move to make way for me to pass by in the culvert, so I helped him out by moving closer, at which point he took off. If someone you know is slithering along like a snake -- ethics, questionable dealings and statements -- take a little time to help them out.

NOTE     *****     NOTE

Remember to join the "Inspired By Nature" Group.
We'll be having an ActiveRain Members Pets contest momentarily.

Helpful blog posts for ActiveRain newbies (I guess you know they'll open in a new window)

1. How the system works and working the system, or Active Rain point values that I know about
2. How to get 500 points with your ActiveRain success story
3. Do you have some commercials for your business?
4. Free help for Active Rain newbies
5. 10 ways to get a featured post at ActiveRain
6. How to keep people from reading your Active Rain blog
7. How do you get people to comment on your blog?
8. Using Active Rain more effectively by finding Power Partners
9. Quit putting huge, gigantic, monster pictures in your blog. Now! (Help on resizing them)
10. Using YouTube videos without slowing down page loading
11. Don't forget to remember how Active Rain supports you indirectly
12. How to use the Active Rain system more efficiently
13. How do you choose a subject for your blog posts?

Need help with marketing? Join the Guerrilla Marketing Tactics Group.

Inspired by nature? Join the Inspired By Nature Group.

Classical music lover? Join the Classical Music Group.

Want to share a good book? Join the Active Rain Book Club