Did you find the copperhead snake in this morning’s post? Here it is. I never spotted it and had to have help from Pradeep:
An enlargement:
For me this was very hard.
Here’s the copperhead!
March 2, 2023 • 1:00 pm
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
I did not find it, and I looked for a while. As usual, once it was pointed out, it was so easy to see; how could I have missed that? I also found that many things on the forest floor can sort-of look like parts of snakes.
Looked and looked and never found it.
Might I make a humble suggestion?
It would be nice if the solution were perhaps added to the original image post. That way, those of us who check the site in the evening will not see the solution first.
I have a history with snakes. There are a lot of them where we live, and a couple of occasions I have stopped in mid-stride half a second before I stepped on a coiled rattlesnake on the trail. Standing there with my foot right over a huge rattlesnake is not a sensation to be forgotten.
It is really easy to mistake them for old cow patties in your peripheral vision, and often they are drowsing in the sun, and are not paying attention either.
One time my wife had taken a long soak in the tub, saw to her ablutions, and left our bathroom. Not five seconds after she left, a tremendous racket sounded from the bathroom. A huge black snake had gotten it’s head stuck in a sheet metal mouse trap, and was banging it wildly against the walls and fixtures. No doubt it had been lurking there in the very small bathroom for the hour or so that she was in there. It totally freaked her out.
Our solution is that she pretends that snakes no longer come into the house, and I try to seal up any access for them, while pretending that I never catch snakes in the sunroom or find snakeskins wound through the inside stonework.