It was beautiful, though!
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of late 19th century steamship traffic to Ocracoke, and the large Victorian hotel that accommodated the guests. You can read the article here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082114.htm.
Leave it to your daily posts to spark new insights and information, Philip--as always.
ReplyDeleteTo wit: this very interesting wikipedia post about hognose snakes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hognose
Learn something new every day!
Agreed!
Delete"Hognose snakes (Heterodon) are rear-fanged. The fangs have been referred to as just "enlarged teeth", but they are genuine fangs that are used for prey restraint. Despite the common belief, there is no evidence to support the fangs being used for "toad popping". Under this belief, the toads inflate their lungs to make swallowing difficult, but the fangs would penetrate the lungs and deflate them. However, whole toads with intact lungs are commonly regurgitated by recently captured hognoses."
Philip, I did some poking around on the internet a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, there have been cottonmouth sitings on the Outer Banks, so you may yet get your chance.
I also saw one on this trail the end of July. Very colorful.
ReplyDeleteRelatively new signs on the lawns around Bodie Island Lighthouse alert visitors to the presence of snakes, and a volunteer at the lighthouse showed me photos last August of a rattlesnake captured on the grounds, right in front of the lighthouse.
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