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11/04/2006: "From Snow to Summer Snakes?!"
It's hard to believe that just a few days ago there was snow covering our pasture and paddocks. And now it's back to being so warm and dry that the snakes are on the move! However the one I grabbed in this photo was not about to go anywhere, an eagle had already made sure to that. The most common snake here on our property is the Tiger snake, and it's quite venemous. This one though was a young copperhead (without it's head 
), another potentially deadly Aussie bush snake that is normally fairly non-aggressive.
One thing you do not do around here is swim in the waterhole up near our main house... snakes are usually there first, and they can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes... so what looks like a peaceful swimming spot is more of a restaurant of frogs and other billabong life for our hungry Aussie reptiles. Respect them, and they'll respect you - besides it's all part of living out here in the great rural "outback" of country Tasmania - from Tassie Devils to snakes, you just never know what will be on your doorstep next!
However they are VERY hungry critters, and quite clever in finding ways to get food. They also emit quite a scary scream when they are fighting or trying to impress the girl Devils 
Typically they are about the size of a smaller squat dog... and they are very common around our rural area. At present though a terrible disease is sweeping across our state, killing many of them... researchers are trying very hard to solve this and isolate the cause. PS: Sorry we still don't have your "special" webcam request set up yet 