Six Slick Snakes

Crofter's mate found these snake skins - all six of them - by our garden rockery. Looks like a whole family of snakes moulted on the same day (10th August 2022). We're not sure which species they are - but there are plenty of Ladder snakes (Elaphe scalaris) in our garden.

Cast in the same moult

Serpent Surprise

So we were sitting at lunch when one of the Crofters noticed something strange about the window. It appeared to be moving, gliding...

...and then we saw this:

A Ladder snake, Elaphe scalaris, had squeezed in behind the window. She or he was moving too fast to measure, but must have been more than a metre long.

Green Glasssss ssssnake

She was quite insistent on coming in, and even when we had closed the window, kept on trying to get in. She scaled the grape vine outside the kitchen, and seemed to be heading for the roof when I gently picked her up and put her back into the field.

Nature is so close, here at the Croft. If we were to leave, Nature would happily take over.