I have a snake phobia. It used to be just a healthy respect, but after being trapped in a closed garage with a rat snake that was at least five feet long, the respect turned to fear. Rat snakes are not venomous, and our neighbor removed it from the garage, but the fear remained for a long time before subsiding. Then, about a month ago I killed a venomous copperhead in the garage, and the fear became a phobia.
Earlier this week, while simply standing on our front porch, I looked down and saw a very long snake on the top of one of the shrubs that is level with the porch floor. Determined to face my fear, I went back into the house for my camera and then took some photos before retreating completely inside.
I don’t know if taking the photos has helped or will help, as I feel as if that snake will jump off my computer screen and strike at me. The snake was a black racer, non-venomous, but it didn’t help that I grew up hearing the old wives’ tale that black racers chase people.
At least I overcame my fear long enough to take these photos…
Unexpected in common hours 
I think that you need a few positive experiences with snakes, like this one where you got fabulous photos, to overcome the phobia, Deb.
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I think you’re right. Thank you for the compliment about the photos. It took everything in me to stand there and take those photos.
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I think you shouldn’t worry about it! I have the SAME phobia, and it comes from all of those women in our lives who were DEATHLY afraid of snakes and were sure that one of us children or grandchildren were going to DIE of a snake bite – probably a water moccasin (while we were swimming in a lake) or a rattlesnake (while we were walking in the woods!!! Mother let us ALL know that if we were not kidnapped walking along the street, we would get snake-bitten in the back yard. Haha. It comes naturally to our family. So, just laugh it off and blame it on Nana Lou and your mother and all of our friends’ mothers. I don’t care if you get those pictures or not. I do not even like to look at snakes in a zoo or in a cage. The shrubbery in a close-up would be prettier without that snake’s body and head. I am impressed that you know which are the non-poisonous ones. They are ALL poisonous to me. But, I am my mother’s daughter….. Just saying…..
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I have a friend who posted a photo of a snake she had killed with the caption reading, “What kind of snake would this have been if it had lived?” Haha! Technically, it’s against the law in Georgia to kill a non-venomous snake, but no one is policing that. My friend’s husband is a deputy sheriff. LOL I think my phobia is that one will get on the porch or in one of my hanging baskets or in the garage again or even in the house. I would die!
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I have fear watching snakes …
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I think it’s a healthy fear, but I wonder if I have too much fear.
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No, you won’t. A snake in a hanging basket is highly unlikely. The garage is another story. In the house, ?? The problem is your active imagination. Get it working on another topic. Nuclear war is mine. I am working on getting rid of that !! Maybe I should focus on snakes!! (I had a lizard once.)
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Another blogger told me that snakes get in hanging baskets. Funny, I don’t obsess over nuclear war. My snake focus will go away as the weather gets cooler, and the snakes aren’t out as much.
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chimpanzees are born with a fear of snakes so it is probably wise to be wary – I like looking at snakes though glass or through your camera lens – long enough to appreciate their beauty
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That’s interesting about chimpanzees. I know I’ll always be wary, but I don’t like being so terribly afraid.
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Reblogged this on Vijayagiri views.
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