Water snake, Hewitt

Normally, I love snakes and, in fact, I'm constantly seeking them out. But there is one serpent I prefer to love at a distance, and this one was, on a recent walk, not at a distance enough. The Northern Water Snake is an exceptionally common reptile, and any observer trekking by a lake, pond, or slow-moving stream is likely to spot one. In the course of scoping out trails at the nearby Hewitt Farm for an upcoming public outing I'm leading, I spotted two large fat-bodied members of the Nerodia sipedon clan that were sunning themselves on a stone bridge over a small stream. They did what snakes usually do—retreat, one under some rocks, the other into the water—but because this serpent has a nasty disposition, I couldn't be certain that either would keep its distance. These are known locally as moccasins, and while they're absolutely, despite what some old-timers will tell you, not the poisonous, more southern snake, N. sipedon will bite. Sometimes, they'll bite unprovoked, and while the attack won't inject any venom, the attack just may cause heart failure, so when I looked at both bridge guardians, I decided that I didn't really need to cross and headed off in a different direction.