08July

Snakes in the grass

Alex and I went to Alabama last week to play some golf on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. While walking along the fifth fairway (yes, we walked in that heat!) we came across a dead snake draped over a tree branch. Alex, a biologist, identified it as a scarlet kingsnake.

Scarlet kingsnake (not the same one, obviously)

(Shhhh! not too loud while we are putting!)

We went to grab a late lunch at the clubhouse after the 9th hole and debated on whether or not we should play 9 more in this heat. We decided to drink a couple of more beers and think about it.

Three beers later, folks were trickling back in after their 18th hole. One man, with a strong southern accent, loudly asked,

HEY! Did ya'll see the curl snake we killed on the 5th fairway this morning? Be careful out there, ya'll!

To which Alex loudly replied:

REDNECKS AND YELLOWS KILL A FELLOW....REDNECKS AND BLACKS, A FRIEND OF JACK!

Total silence. My jaw dropped. Alex was rather puzzled as to why I so suddenly decided to pass on the last 9 holes and leave the clubhouse....quickly!

What were you talking about in there?

It was not a coral snake. It was just a harmless kingsnake. If the red rings are adjacent to the yellow ones, it's a coral snake. If the red rings are next to the black ones, it's a scarlet kingsnake.....Red next to yellow, kill a fellow. Red next to black, a friend of Jack