Vote for 2010 Estate Walnut Label

Every year, we harvest English walnuts from the two grand trees behind the barn.  I give many of the walnuts away under the label of Happy Snake Ranch Walnuts.  Last year, we made a party out of it with guests, sunsetting, an appearance by the Deer Whisperer, and I boldly claimed that these are Estate Walnuts.

With the arrival of the 2010 storms, the walnuts are dropping and it is time to decide on the snake to be featured on this year's label.

The 2010 candidates are:

The Pensive Gopher Snake

The Pensive Gopher Snake was exploring the backyard on April 26th when I was undertaking the first big mowing of the spring.  I stopped the brushcutter and moved this 34" specimen to a grassy spot under old farm equipment along the driveway.  This photo shows the black line that crosses a Pacific gopher snake's forehead, appears to connect with the dark round pupils and then dives straight down below the eyes.

Nightsnake Scales on Linen

This California nightsnake is showing off its distinct neck blotch.  I recovered it from the main springbox on September 1st and before releasing it, showed it to several people so they could become familiar with this uncommon snake.  This could be the last snake I see on the Dipper Ranch in 2010 as I have never seen a snake after October for the length of the winter.

The Blue-tongued Rattler

The Blue-tongued Rattler showed up at the barn on April 25th and was the First Buzz of the 2011 season.  I moved it approximately one mile away  and marked its rattle with purple and green ink.  No Northern Pacific rattlesnake with purple-green tattoos subsequently showed up at the barn, so I guess I moved it far enough away.

So go ahead and vote in the comments section on which snake you think should be featured on the 2010 walnut label.  I will post the winner after the great walnut harvest next week.

Gopher Snake on Old Farm Equipment

Same gopher snake as above.  A patient snake, it tolerated me carrying it from one spot to another trying to decide the best place to move it so it wouldn't show back up in my multi-day mowing project.  Once I set it down, this snake posed on the old farm equipment until I suddenly reached out to move a grass stalk out of the photo, and then it struck at me.  It didn't actually bite me, just scared me enough to be respectful and to remember for the rest of the season - no fast movements around snakes.