Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: reptile

In 2012, I went to visit my dad in San Francisco and while I was there, I went to the Academy of Sciences with my trusty Canon SX30 super zoom camera. I had a wonderful time checking out the totally rebuilt museum. Their reptile area was wonderful too, and this is where I found a huge tank with dozens of stunning geckos! The reflection on the glass was a nice bonus!

(4 more pictures in notes above) One day in October of 2012, Steve came into the house with a plastic box and asked in excitement, "Guess what I found in the shop?!" I had no idea, so it was a wonderful surprise to discover that he'd captured a baby Gopher snake! He knew I'd like to see it before he released it, and naturally, pictures were in order! After a few minutes of happy clicking, we brought the box outside, tipped it on its side in the meadow, and quick as a flash, our young friend slipped out of sight in the bushes!

(Invitation to my next project info at the bottom AND I have a new group for our projects: Janet's Photography Projects [temporary name]) I've got folders brimming with finished pictures that I'd like to post at some point, and while I was looking for images which contained numbers of objects from 1-10, I discovered this one, which is among my favorites since it also has a story to go with it. One morning Steve and I got up and he went down to the kitchen to get breakfast, when I heard him exclaim in surprise. Pulling my clothes on, I dashed down to see what the excitement was alll about. Pointing to our aluminum recycling can, he said, "Janet, there is a garter snake in that corner behind the can!" He continued his story as we both moved to each side of the can, explaining, " I came into the kitchen and turned on the light, and I found it in the middle of the room! The second it saw me, it raced to find a place to hide...how in the world did it get into the kitchen???!" I shook my head in wonder. "I have no idea...maybe there is a small hole under the cabinets?" Steve moved the can while I guarded one side, and quickly and gently, Steve reached in and grabbed the harmless snake behind the head to keep it from possibly biting and lifted it up, supporting its sinuous body in his other hand. It tried to escape, but like me, Steve's owned snakes and we've caught many wild garter snakes as kids and know how to hold them safely and securely. It calmed down quickly when it found it could not get away, the rest of its body intertwined around Steve's fingers. We appreciated its lovely markings for a moment and then I traded with him so I could hold it too. Snakes feel wonderful to hold. They have lovely textures and it's amazing to feel them moving along with thier muscular, ungulating bodies. Steve got my camera and took some pictures of me holding it, and then we walked outside and released it about 100 feet from the house. From the time we discovered it to the time we released it was only about 10 minutes, because we wanted to cause it as little stress as possible. I am delighted by this image and am so happy that I can use it for my final picture in my 1-10 Project! A big thanks to my Project Buddies: Chrissy , Valfal (Valerie), Jenny McIntyre , Rachel , and Lynne , it was really wonderful having you along on this adventure! Great creativity and lots of fun!! This 1-10 Project was Chrissy's idea, and she also thought about doing a series of colors. The other day, Lynne approached me with a color theme too, with the addition of a rainbow scheme with enough colors that a weekly project will carry us through nearly to Christmas! I would like to extend an inviatation to anyone who would like to join us on this project! Let me know if you're interested and I'll add you to the list so that folks can see what you've come up with for each week too! Next project: Color Wheel! Next Week will be a pictures that features any shade of Red. The following weeks will be any shade of Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, and then the non-colors of Black and White. You can restrict yourself to a single subject or you might like to have a theme, like flowers, things that are a certain shape, or whatever. It just needs to be the color of the week! :) I hope you'll consider joining us! Photography projects are a great way to be inspired and keep the creative juices going! Explored on September 30, 2014. Highest placement, #2.

+ 10 more inset images above in notes! :) "Killer" is also slang for "cool", which is what this stunning, beautiful, gentle and non-venomous snake is! I found this amazing California Mountain Kingsnake on our property 1.5 years ago and when I discovered that this reclusive species is actually quite common in this area, we decided it would be ok to keep him as a pet. Affectionately named "Snakey McSnakerton", he's doing great and growing larger with each passing month. When I found him (we don't actually know the gender, but call it a male!), Snakey was about 10" long, and is now about 16". There are about 45 species of Kingsnakes, which also include Milksnakes. They come in a large number of colors from solid black to almost white, with a dizzying variety of patterns. In fact, some species, such as this one, mimic the highly venomous coral snake , which only lives in the southern States. (NEVER approach a snake unless you are SURE it's harmless!) Kingsnakes are among the most popular pet snakes due to their docile, friendly dispositions and ease of care. In the wild, they are secretive, usually moving about during the day, and eat rodents, reptiles and birds. If you would like to know more about Kingsnakes, Wiki has a nice page here: Wiki: Kingsnake This picture uses some texture in the background, courtesy of Jerry Jones: Soft-Faux-n-Grunge-Bokeh Explored on April 18, 2014. Highest placement, #2.

2 more pictures above in notes! There is a special log along the ridge line that runs from our property to about 1/2 mile through another property and to public forest. This log often has wonderful surprises under it. I found Snakey there last year. I found millipedes there, many kinds of insects and eggs, and two different scorpions too! Today I lifted the log up and found another surprise!! A Blue Tailed Skink!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!! These amazing lizards have a motion that's half-way between a lizard and a snake. They have a very long, blue tail which is about twice the length of their body! If you would like to know more about these lovely, secretive little guys, Wiki has a page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plestiodon

3 more pictures and 1 text note above! :) Last October I was checking under rocks along our ridgetop and to my complete surprise, I found this beautiful California Mountain Kingsnake!! I could not resist capturing this tiny baby so that I could bring it home to show Steve, who also loves snakes. Never in my life have I seen such a gorgeous snake in the wild...and I found it on our property!! WOW! Both of us were so amazed by this little guy that we wanted to keep it for our own. However, I needed to know that it would be ok to do this, so I did some research on the internet and found out that in our area, this is a fairly common snake, but because it's secretive, it's rarely seen. I found out that it isn't illegal to keep them as a pet, and both of us have had snakes, so we understand how to care for them. Finally, both of us were concerned that he was too small, so late in the year, to survive the long winter. So, after trying out many different names, we decided to call him "Snakey" because it's cute to say, bought him a tank and everything needed to care for him, and he's been with us for nearly 9 months now. He's grown much larger from his original 11" by several inches and is wonderful to hold and observe! :) The quote I picked is perfect for him, because these snakes mimic the color of the very dangerous Coral Snake, but are not venemous and are very gentle and docile. Chanakya (c. 370–283 BCE) was an Indian teacher, philosopher and royal advisor. Originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University, Chanakya managed the first Maurya emperor Chandragupta's rise to power at a young age. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent. Chanakya served as the chief advisor to both Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. Wikipedia: Chanakya Explored on August 11, 2012. Highest placement, page 4.

A couple of weeks ago, Steve came into the game room where we have our computers and announced, "Look what I found in the shop!!" I looked into the plastic box and found a Pacific Gopher Snake hatchling looking up at me! Naturally, I exclaimed, "COOL!! Let's take pictures!!" After I took a series of images, we leaned the box on its side outside, and in a flash, he disappeared into the bushes and was gone! What fun!! :) Pacific Gopher Snakes are a fairly common snake which is found along the western coast of North America, from British Columbia to Baja, California. It can grow to be 7 feet long and is harmless to humans. In fact, it is one of the best pet snakes, due to its gentle nature and ease of care. If you would like to know more about Pacific Gopher Snakes, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Pacific Gopher Snake . For more information and lots of pictures, CaliforniaHerps.com has a great page here: Californiaherps: Pacific Gopher Snake By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)