My family has had a joint project for the last two years of building a waterfall and small pond next to our house. Now that it is basically finished, we are adding the last touches of summer flowers, water plants in the bog and a few more rocks. We now have the whole eco system right next to our house: a haven for birds, mosquitoes, tadpoles, frogs, rabbits and some other unwelcome guests.

"I don’t like spiders and snakes, and that ain't what it takes to...scare the heck out of me!” Last week, I gazed out of the kitchen window and saw an approximately four to four-and-a-half foot black snake (Photo # 1) , sunning itself right smack in the middle of the back yard. I called my daughter to come look at the same time my wife pulled up the shade on the window adjacent to the one we were looking out of and lets out a scream, as there is another one on top of the rocks (Photo # 2). We thought the scary reptiles were invading us.

When I walked out to the back yard, the black snake hid behind the bushes by a retaining wall and quickly slithered into the pond. (That will be the last time I put my hands in the water to split my water hyacinths without carefully looking first!)

After we gained our composure, we took a ride for a visit to Amicola State Park the next day. I have not seen snakes for several years and, coincidently, we spotted another snake (Photo #3) while hiking up to see the Amicola Falls. It was quite ironic that snake "#3" had such a “striking” (no pun intended) resemblance to snake "#2" that we saw at our house. We later found that the two snakes with the distinctive markings were banded water snakes; which are deemed “relatively” harmless. Now, depending on your pain threshold, “relatively” may be interpreted in various ways. Snake bites do hurt.

My advice is to tell children to stay away from snakes at all costs. Copperheads and rattlesnakes can be found in our area. They are poisonous and can kill. If you do find a snake that needs to be captured, there are professional animal removal companies in the County. We learned from our nature trail that typically snakes sun themselves during the day and hunt at night. Since they supposedly do not have good eyesight and rely on feeling body heat near them, you may try what I do when I am walking around my yard at night -- I stomp my feet and hope I scare them away. You may also want to carry a good flashlight.

Remember: Advice in this column should always be taken up by a properly licensed and insured Service Provider. In the event someone needs medical attention, call 911 immediately. Try to get a good description of a snake if a bite is involved.