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Gabe surfing some waves at Myrtle Beach!

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Bad Snake! Shoo!

A neighbor ran over a 3' Copperhead on the road in front of our house. This just a half hour after our boys had finished playing in the sprinkler in our front yard just a short distance away. We have always had to deal with snakes in our area. Mostly the non-poisonous (and fun to catch) black snake, which gets up to 6' in length. But the poisonous Copperhead is fairly common, as well, but very elusive.

The Copperhead usually slithers away very quickly when it fears a predator is close. They are even pretty slow to strike if untouched, though they will "fake a jab" in hopes of getting you to leave. Step on one, though, and you're in a world of hurt. Usually getting to a doctor pretty quickly will save you from any major trouble, but you would be in extreme pain. They are very rarely fatal, but you could have bad scarring and possibly even the loss of use of a limb.

Interesting fact: Of the 50 states, North Carolina is NUMBER ONE in VENOMOUS snake bites.
CLICK to enlarge.
My father-in-law (above).
A closer look.