A Garter Snake

Posted on May 9, 2004 in Creatures

Lizards make a distinct chitter with their feet when they run off through the grass. Birds, squirrels, and rabbits throw their weight into their flight. When I heard a continuous hiss without the tiny foot steps and without the heavy-bodied pushing of the grass, I looked immediately: a long black body and two flaxen stripes essing its way up the hillside. I watched it leave, remembering that the greatest danger to the garter snake was not someone like me catching it, but a developer deciding to flatten and clear the spot. That’s how we kill: we remove the land so that nothing but cockroaches, ants, and mice can flourish next to us.