Homegrown Nursery Rhyme

Trotting up the dusty mountain trail, I noticed the distant snake stretched across the path sunning itself. Getting closer, I didn't mind its presence. It was either a harmless garter or bull snake that I would simply jump over, or, it was a rattlesnake that I would respect by going wide around it.

With tunnel vision on its tail, I saw no rattles as I prepared to jump over the 18"-20" snake. In slow motion, my brain finally processed the entire vision sent to it from my eyes and panic instantly struck. The color pattern screamed DEADLY as I launched as if at Cape Canaveral fully strapped with rocket boosters thrusting me skyward.

During lift off, I looked below at how quickly tree tops became distant and watched as the mountains slowly got smaller and smaller.  At cruising altitude, I waved at passengers through their small jetliner windows and eventually I touched down a few miles up the trail. Looking back, I watched the dangerously evil serpent silently glide off the trail and into its lair of thick vegetation.

I like snakes. Wait, I better qualify that statement. I like snakes of the harmless variety. I will catch them only to feel how their bodies move and admire, despite being legless, how they propel themselves across the ground. Having been an outdoor enthusiast my whole life, I thought I knew local plants and animals and that snake was not local!  I blamed some nearby knucklehead allowing their poisonous coral snake to escape its terrarium. Now, it was loose and roaming around on a popular mountain trail.

Coral Snake

After my heart rate calmed, I continued up and around the mountain top, very concerned about the escapee.  Live and let live, but this invader could cause harm to trail users and if it reproduces, it could potentially upset the entire ecosystem (just ask Florida what rejected pet reticulated pythons are doing to the everglades!).

Upon returning home, I fired up Google and was pleasantly surprised as this ol' dog learned something new.  Colorado has milk snakes that resemble the banded color configuration of the coral snake. 

Milk Snake

Locally, milk snakes are not plentiful, but are native and not venomous. I feel fortunate having encountered it and learning something new, but I could have done without the adrenaline laced sky jump.

Apparently a nursery rhyme helps to remember how to differentiate between the snakes:
"Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, friend of Jack."

I don't want to rely on remembering that jingle correctly. (I have already confused myself applying the rhyme to the pictures.) What if I accidentally switch the colors around?  Or, scramble some words? ie. "Red touch black kills Jack. Red touch yellow a friendly fellow."

So, I made up my own that's very safe, simple and easy to remember:
"See unknown snake in the grass, best turn around and haul some ass."