Of Snakes and Art

Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin

On a recent trip to Austin, we took our morning walk around Towne Lake.  Eagle-Eye Ron first spotted the "snake in the grass" that lay next to the trail.  It was so big that I missed it.  Hundreds of feet long, its head lies near the trail; its body stretches through the building; its tail ends in the parking lot.  The Mexican American Cultural Center is a lovely new addition to the scenery around the lake and merits a visit not only for its architecture and landscape but also for its exhibitions.   It is, of course, a friendly scarlet king snake.  Red on black, friend of Jack.

 

Python Guards Home

I never worry about the safety of my home because Pythias guards the entry hall.

Snakes in Road

Each time I see a sign like this one I have to smile and think of my childhood. When we traveled the country on extended camping trips, my father would tell us all to be careful when this sign appeared because it meant "Snakes in Road."

Morning Prayer and Snakes

While I had already been painting snakes for some time, I was struggling with the question of whether I should devote myself 100% to snakes and let the other ideas go. I had committed to a solo show three months away so there was some urgency to resolving the issue. I had thought and prayed and discussed; still the notion of such a strange narrow focus left me unsure.

That early July morning in 2006 while visiting my sister in Russellville, Arkansas, my husband Ron and I decided to explore the local walking trail at Bona Dea Park. Before the walk we sat in the gazebo at the trail head and read morning prayer as food for our meditation and conversation during the 3 1/2 miles through the swampy bottom land below the Lake Dardenelle Dam. It fell to me to read the scriptures. The old testament lesson assigned for that day was the story of Moses raising the bronze snake on the pole in the wilderness. Considering it a sign, I could hardly read. Well, there was food for conversation!

We completed the liturgy and set off down the trail, a nice broad washed gravel trail. About a half mile in, I saw what looked like a stick lying across the path. As we got closer, I realized it was a copperhead, about 20 inches long. It lay so straight and still that I thought it was dead. As it raised its small head to look at us, I was assured it was not. We kept our distance and picked up pebbles to throw to encourage it to move on. Unfazed it continued to lie there and look at us. Two more walkers approached us from behind and we motioned for them to stop. No amount of prodding with either stones or sticks could get the critter to budge. Finally we had to walk into the bushes at the side of the trail to get around it. After we had gone about 50 feet, I turned and saw that resolute serpent make an about face and head into the underbrush.

There was not much to say after that. Snakes it would be.

A few miles on we watched a large momma turtle laying her eggs in a damp hole she had scraped in the sand beside a slow-moving stream.

The Snake in the Grass

My Photo of a Snake at the Washington Zoo

When I was young, maybe eight or nine, my family was visiting Tante Liz who lived in the county. She had a modest home with a large front porch complete with swing. That swing was the only one I ever saw that had a seat with inner springs.

My younger brother and I would play a sort of game at Tante Liz's. One at a time, we would jump off the side of the porch, land and roll onto the thick St. Augustine grass. Then we would jump up, run back up the four or five steps and do it all over again. We had a simple childhood; it did not take much to entertain us.

That fine summer's day as we were engaged in our pastime of running in circles, I made my jump, landed on my feet and noticed a pink and brown diamond back rattlesnake of about 18 or 20 inches sitting coiled about a foot away from my bare foot. Needless to say, my return to the porch was speedier than usual.

My brother recalls Tante Liz responding to my screams by appearing with a hoe, neatly severing the snake's head from its body, and flinging the body far from the house.

I only wish that all snakes in the grass could be handled with such dispatch.

Thailand - 1993

Note: Ron is not pictured here.

My husband Ron is an Episcopal priest. Sometimes priests conduct funerals. That time the decedent’s will instructed that his ashes be scattered on the highest mountain in Thailand near Chaing Mai. Ron had held a memorial service for him in Houston earlier in the year.

Naturally, we did what the will required--journey to Thailand. We held a service on Doi Inthanon and scattered the ashes to the wind.

Of course that was not all we did. Along the way we heard stories of The Naga, a mythical sea serpent. We saw it in paintings and on buildings. And, we met real pythons.

Here you see one of our traveling companions Cecil and me dealing with our ophidiophobia by embracing the beast, or should I say, letting the beast embrace us. I clearly recall making serious eye contact with the python; my feelings toward all snakes changed in that instant. They became if not precisely love, at least to more respect than fear. You do not see my husband in any of these pictures because he insisted that he be the photographer of any close encounters with snakes.

The 1980 drawing of a two headed serpent in a swamp had no eyes on either head. Today my snakes have exaggerated eyes. It was not until I was gathering all this information into one place that I made that connection.

The photo below was taken at a later point in our trip. Having become ophidiophiles, we were attending a performance at a snake ranch, and Cecil and I could not resist yet one more opportunity to bond with our new friends.

Pet Snake - I do not have one.

Click here for more on "How to Care for Corn Snakes: Free Online Guide to Keeping Snakes as Pets"

A cursory google for things snake-like found this video from ExpertVillage. I do not have a house snake and do not want one. My friend Patty has one. In case you are interested, there are many more short clips in this series including two that tell you how to feed an adult snake. They need eat only every two weeks.

ExpertVillage has thousands of other tamer how-to videos for your edification and entertainment.