A Visit To An Organic Farm

I went to visit an organic farm to buy some kale or cabbage. The driveway to the farm is up there on the left. Turns out the farm doesn't open until March. But I saw a hawk fly up from the ditch on the right with a four foot long snake in it's talons! Wow! And then it landed in the grass up there on the right. As I took the picture Mrs. Hawk came flying toward my windshield with her white belly looking like an angel. Holy cow! I got out of the car to take a picture.

The hawk, I think it is a red tail is up there yelling at me to stay away from his breakfast. I told him to give me a minute. I wanted to find the snake first.

Woah! Don't get too close! I have heard of snakes that can bite you even after they are dead. I told the farmer about it. He said, "Better it be a snake than one of my chickens!" My friend Beth belongs to the herpetological society. She confirms this is a plain bellied water snake. This snake will swallow it's food whole. They will eat fish, crayfish, frogs and other creatures in the water. Sometimes they wait underwater for the food to come to them. Some people mistake them for the venomous cotton mouth snake and kill them. This snake might bite you but it's not venomous. I am glad I went to this farm even though it wasn't open!