Ever since we put a swimming pool in our backyard, there’s been a host of animals that have wound up in the skimmer basket. The fact that we back onto greenspace doesn’t help. Usually these animals end up there after a rain storm has disorientated their sense of direction. Some animals I’ve been able to rescue, like a baby rabit one time, countless toads both small and large.  But most of the time by the time I get to them, the poor animals have gone to a better place than the cool of the pool-baby mice, baby moles, chipmunks, baby rabbits, you name it, the pool has claimed the life of many two and four legged critters. I always struggle with how to remove the animals, live or expired. I’m not a squeamish person per sae, but I don’t really like to handle dead things and if it’s alive, I prefer not to get bit. I usually open the lid on the skimmer basket rather slowly with cautious trepidation for fear of what I might discover. But I wasn’t prepared for what I found recently, as I headed out to the freshly opened pool to check the skimmer basket.

It was a garter snake, coiled so its head was still above water. I really wasn’t at all sure how to get this one out. I knew he would bite me if my hand got too close. But I remember as a child my lightning quick hand would strike out to pick a gerbil up so incredibly fast, the rodent didn’t even know what hit them. So, I used the same technique this time, immediately releasing the snake on the decking. All animals rescued from the pool are always exhausted, and it was immediately apparent that this was the case with the snake. He slithered no where, probably getting his cold blooded body warmed up after the freezing encounter with the pool. He was a small snake, about a foot in length, probably recently hatched.

I said to the snake, “Don’t move…I have to get my camera.” I wanted to take the opportunity to take some pictures of the snake.  It obliged the request from its rescuer.

For the next 20 minutes I took picture after picture of the little snake as he gave me pose after pose–a flick of his tongue here, a raised head there–it definitely knew how to thank it’s rescuer. When I was all done, I said, “That’s a wrap!” and with a flick of its tongue, the slippery snake slithered away into the soft grass.

I used my Nikon 105mm Macro Lens so the snake looks much larger than it’s actual size. I also kept the aperture wide open so there is an extremely shallow depth of field. Here are some of the pictures.