snake skin – New England's Narrow Road

A few days ago I was doing yard work and walked into my garage to see a long snake stretched out beneath the house doorway.

I got the shovel thinking I would chase him outside, but I realized he couldn’t move. His tail was wedged into the wall.

So – I’m thinking – what does that mean? Was he up inside the wall? How did this happen? Does he have family left inside my wall too?

There was no time to worry about swarms of snakes all cozied up in my insulation. I had to call someone to help him.

I found 2 numbers and no one answered at either one. It was 5:30 and all the wildlife people were gone for the day.

By now, the snake had stretched himself across the bottom of the doorway and had stuck his head under the threshold – between the cement and the wood. So I could no longer see his head. His tail was still stuck and it was an odd view. I should have taken a picture, but it was just freaking me out and I still wanted to find someone to come help him.

I went inside and had a beer while I contemplated calling the cops. Maybe they were not busy and they had an officer who actually liked snakes and he’d be happy to come out and help. Then again, maybe they would tell me they don’t do that sort of thing, take my name and address and consider me a nuisance.

The story has a happy ending. When I went back outside I was just in time to see his tail slip through the crack beneath the door. He had pulled it free. I was hoping that crack led him outside. At least he was out of the wall.

The next day I noticed a snake skin along the bottom of the house just outside the garage.
I pulled it out and measured it – the markings were just like the markings on the milk snake. I don’t know if the skin had been there a while or if he had shed it after his escape.

I didn’t know that there were snakes that big in New Hampshire. I did get a call back from Fish and Game the next day and they left a message saying that I should put on some gloves and help him get free! Uh… I don’t think so!