Behind blue eyes…

I was walking around the yard, watering the trees and plants, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw this little guy…

This baby bullsnake was about 10 inches long and narrower than a pencil. He was on the concrete pad our air-conditioning unit is on, and when I picked him up, I noticed something strange…

He had blue eyes.

It looked like someone had taken a neon blue marker and drawn the two eyes on. I set him back down and went inside for my phone.

As I walked back outside, I looked up Illinois DNR and typed in “blue eyed snake”. Here’s what I discovered…

If you find a snake with blue eyes, you’ve caught a glimpse of a natural phenomenon: the snake is about to shed. The color change is often referred to as “going opaque” or “going blue,” and it’s a sign that a snake is ready to unveil his new skin.

How cool is that? I love learning new things, especially about nature. While I was at it, I looked up bullsnake and found that they can grow on average up to six feet long. They eat warm blooded rodents (Yeah!) and have been known to eat poisonous snakes.

I know most people don’t like snakes, but I’d hate to live in a world without them. In fact, if you come across one that you don’t want, let me know. I’ll happily welcome it to my garden.