This pretty little fellow was crossing the road at the right time.

Beautiful, isn’t it!

King snakes come in almost every color there is but his colors are fairly common. Usually, there are yellow rings too. They’re quite harmless to you but interestingly enough, they eat rattlesnakes. (They also eat lizards and mice so I don’t think this one will lack for prey around my house.) McRattle, who has visited us in July for the last two years, doesn’t have anything to fear, however. This one was only about a fourth the size of McRattle.

They also have elaborate mating habits, entwining their bodies and indulging in a some neck nibbling. Now that’s my kind of snake!

I was feeling kind of deprived because I hadn’t seen a snake all spring. The Chuckwallas on the hillside seem to be thriving and there are lots of Spiney Lizards. But no snakes. So it was really nice to see him.

My wife and I were taking an evening walk down the road that leads up to our property and this little guy was right there in the middle of the blacktop. I never would have been able to forgive myself if I had found his little flattened body on the road later, so I made an improvised snake sack out of my shirt and carried him back up to our property. (A cloth bag is the best way to transport snakes.)

Our property is at the very end of the road. There’s no chance of getting squashed by a car up here. In fact, if he goes just a few more feet up the hill, he’ll be protected by federal law because he’ll be in Zion National Park!