An Eastern Hognose Snake with all his antics...

Eastern Hognose Snakes (Heterodon platyrhinos) are the drama kings and queens of the snake world----they are blustery and filled with air (literally), put on a great act, and work very hard to convince you they’re dangerous…

Yikes! If that doesn't convince you there's danger lurking in the grass, I don't know what will, but it's all an act. Eastern Hognose snakes are harmless to humans. If you look in that gaping maw (and how can you not?) you'll see there are no fangs to deliver venom. There are teeth in the back (rear fangs), but they are mainly used to puncture inflated toads (their favorite food) and hold them in place (toads will sometimes inflate their bodies when captured to try to keep from being swallowed, but a hognose takes care of that minor problem in short order!).

When I was looking at the above photo, it dawned on me that I saw no tongue. Where on earth was it? Then I noticed the sheath on the bottom jaw...ahhh haaaa! A snake's tongue is encased in a sheath in the lower jaw when it is retracted. Since a snake's tongue is so integral to its survival, it only makes sense it would have evolved with a sheath to protect the tongue from injury.

When alarmed, an Eastern Hognose Snake will flatten out its head and neck to form a cobra-like hood. Here you can see he's just starting to produce the flaring hood, which is one of his tricks to try to convince you he's venomous and dangerous. Venomous snakes have triangular-shaped heads, while non-venoums snakes have more oval-shaped heads, but if you look at his eye you can see it's all a ruse. He has oval-shaped pupils, which means he is non-venomous. Venomous snakes have elliptical-shaped pupils.

...here you can see the fully formed cobra-like hood. It's pretty convincing!

...from behind the look is just as dramatic...

...and from straight on...ack! That is one dangerous-looking snake. His head screams triangle and his little triangular-shaped snout (the hognose namesake) only adds to his fierceness. Of course, once again, his round pupils give away the fact that he's nonvenomous and harmless...

...and if all that blustering doesn't scare you away, the hognose then does the next best thing. He plays dead, flipping over on his back and lolling out his tongue!

...yes, he actually lolls out his tongue, which is a clever touch because he really does look quite dead! If you want an encore performance, just flip him over. He will immediately flop onto his back again...and loll out that tongue as well!

Matty and I watched this grand performance on 6/29/2011 at Shawnee State Park in Ohio when we were volunteering with Jenny Richards, the park's amazing naturalist. You learn and get to see so much when you volunteer in the parks!

Note: The hognose snake has another method of defense. It will inflate its body with air by expanding its lung like a balloon (most snakes have only one functioning lung that extends most of the length of its body). It then lets the air out emitting a loud hissing sound. I couldn't capture this with the camera... This behavior accounts for many of its common names of "puff adder, blow snake, and hissing viper" (common name source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources A-Z Species Guide).

The beauty of a Garter Snake's scales...

Yesterday before Matty, Rick and I headed over to my parent's house for Easter dinner (yum--very good, Joni), we went to the Little Miami for a hike. We wanted to see how high the river had climbed, and I wanted to revisit a stand of Jack-in-the-Pulpits to make sure they weren't under water. At one point, Matty saw a Garter Snake slithering through the grass, and when I looked down I found this beauty curled up in the leaves by my feet. At first I photographed him with the long lens, but he was so comfortable with my presence I switched to the short lens! At times I was less than a foot away...it was very cool to say the least.

A close-up of an Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) shows his beautiful scales.

...this guy definitely has a round pupil, so you know he's nonvenomous.

...an Eastern Garter Snake's pattern is easy to identify. It has three light stripes with a dark background. I just read in "Ohio's Reptiles" (a free guide written by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife) that a Garter Snake's name "derives from the longitudinal stripes on the body which resemble the design on once-stylish sock garters." Who knew?

...the beautiful and colorful keeled scales of a Garter Snake. Some snakes have smooth scales, while others have "keeled" scales. A keeled scale has a longitudinal ridge on it.

Curled and coiled in the leaf litter, there is no denying his beauty.

A snake's scales are made of keratin, just like our hair and nails. They are formed out of the skin. The skin between the scales is soft and stretchy, which comes in very handy when a snake swallows a mouse or frog! You can see this in the photo above...the scales on the left side of the photo are compact and overlapping, while the scales in the middle have a space between them. Those black and white areas are the skin...stretched to accommodate his latest meal. As a snake grows, he doesn't grow more scales...they just get larger.

Sessile Trillium and a hidden Garter Snake

Sessile Trillium (Trillium sessile) is blooming all along the Little Miami River. To really appreciate its beautiful blossom, get down on your knees and have a look. The veining in the dark maroon petals are the star of the show, but its structure is just as interesting. If you look "sessile" up in Webster's dictionary, you'll find: "attached directly by the base; not raised upon a stalk or peduncle," which perfectly describes this little early spring maroon-colored trillium...

A fully opened blossom of Trillium sessile sits directly atop the leaves. It couldn't have come with a more descriptive name!

...even before a Sessile Trillium bloom opens, the maroon veining in the three outer sepals is striking.

Surprise...an Eastern Garter Snake! When you're sprawled on the ground in the early spring communing with the flowers, don't forget other things like to sprawl (or coil) on the ground too. Thank goodness I LOVE snakes, otherwise, I would have been in for quite a fright. This fellow was coiled up about 4 feet from me. He blended in to the leaves so well I didn't see him until I was almost on top of him. It was cold...and he didn't even bother to move...

The first thing I do when I spot a snake is look at its eye. If the pupil is round, like the pupil on this Eastern Garter Snake, it is non-venomous and safe. If the pupil is elliptical, back away. It is venomous and can do some damage!

...the outer sepals will soon give way to the blossom within.

Sessile Trillium is also called Toadshade Trillium. I can totally imagine a toad finding shelter under the broad leaves...

..sets of three. The geometry of a trillium is part of its mystique.

...bright yellow pollen glows against the maroon petals.

...the sun backlights a petal of Trillium sessile, emphasizing the veining through the translucent petal.

Everyone loves Pumpkin...

Volunteering at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio

...continued from the trailblazing post.

Part of our volunteer work at Shawnee State Park was working at the Nature Center from noon to 3:00. What a wonderful place. Jenny has turned the cozy A-Frame building into Nature Learning Central. She has books, posters, activities, frogs, bugs, bird nests, and snakes! All but two of her snakes are native to Ohio. One that isn't native is Pumpkin, the albino corn snake. Corn snakes are close relatives to Black Rat Snakes, which are native to Ohio, and therefore shares his digs with Steve, the Black Rat Snake (more on that sweety later).

Look at that beautiful red albino eye. If you look closely, you can see his pupil is round. A round pupil lets you know he is not a venomous snake. Venomous Snakes, such as the Timber Rattlesnake, Northern Copperhead, or Eastern Massasauga, have elliptical pupils. That's the sort of helpful information you learn when you visit Jenny's snakes!

...before working with Jenny at the nature center I wasn't a particularly "snakey" kind of girl, but after learning about all of our native snakes and handling all the sweeties at the nature center, I think I actually might fall into the "snakey" category now. I had no idea going into the week how much I would learn to love and appreciate snakes, and how much I would learn about them.

Anna, Kayla and Matty and I each took a snake out to play in the rain. The snakes love feeling the rain falling on them as much as we did. It was hot out, and the rain felt great. Pumpkin was content to rest on Matty's shoulders.

...sometimes Pumpkin would just curl up and go to sleep in your arms. Here he's resting around Matty's neck, curled in around his shirt.

Pumpkin is a corn snake, and corn snakes are constrictors, but they eat rodents and lizards and other small things, so we didn't have to worry about him trying to constrict around our necks. If you look in the background, you can see posters of birds and butterflies. Jenny's walls are covered with information on the natural world. Kids love it there!