It’s been quiet around here, as the new job has been keeping me busy, and I just took a couple weeks off to visit friends in the US. I have some good posts saved up though, which I hope to get out over the next week or two.

On my second to last day in the States we took the kids for a walk in Scotts Run Nature Preserve. The kids had been there a week or so earlier, and had loved splashing around in the stream. As they were repeating the experience my friend Gav noticed this pair:

A moment later he spotted this one right near to the kids. His 9yr old daughter identified it as a Copperhead, and it seems she was completely right.

Just as I was taking that photo I heard a yell from my wife to join them ahead. When I got there this one was making its way up stream and towards the far bank (in the shallows where there were concrete stepping stones), we think it’s a (Black) Northern Water Snake:

Three different types of snakes in about as many minutes. We found another snake (sadly caught in fishing line) as we make our way along the stream towards its joining with the Potomac:
All in all a much more interesting walk than I was expecting. Back to my usual rumblings and grumblings about technology in the next few days..