tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post1763310620561383030..comments2024-03-12T14:02:09.820-04:00Comments on Riverdaze…: THE MEANING OF A SNAKEGrizz…………http://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-9793006414937007562011-09-10T06:59:08.865-04:002011-09-10T06:59:08.865-04:00Bonifer…
It is interesting that, even when we hav...Bonifer…<br /><br />It is interesting that, even when we have some fear of something—as photographers, that fear can be put aside when faced through a lens. Glad you liked the queen snake pieces.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-52522451407834044412011-09-09T08:53:28.323-04:002011-09-09T08:53:28.323-04:00I did check out your link, grizz, on the queen sna...I did check out your link, grizz, on the queen snake, awesome post,<br />thanks!! I don't mind spiders as much, again, one at a time and not on me...:)boniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01775719256913187043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-3356651217347706982011-09-07T18:12:03.198-04:002011-09-07T18:12:03.198-04:00Bonifer…
For me, it's spiders…though only big...Bonifer…<br /><br />For me, it's spiders…though only big ones, in the house; outside, and not on me, they're okay, and I like to photograph them in all their shapes and colors, along with their webs. <br /><br />Snakes I don't mind, though I don't like to look down and see a rattler or copperhead close to my foot, or have a cottonmouth in the canoe with me. That gets a bit too close. <br /><br />These queen snakes are nothing like those, however. Small, gentle, harmless. Very much like garter snakes, which we also have—but queens are more aquatic; true riverbank dwellers. They feed mostly on crayfish, and you seldom find one more than a few feet from the water. They live only around very clean streams, and as such, are a good water-quality indicator species. They're close kin to garter snakes, maybe slightly smaller on the average. I've written about and photographed "my" queens several times. Here's a link to a post I did this spring: <br /><br />http://riverdaze.blogspot.com/2011/05/basking-queens.html <br /><br />You probably wouldn't want them sunbathing on your deck rail, but I don't mind. To me they're a sure sign of spring's warming up.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-16454228923628649042011-09-07T13:36:59.533-04:002011-09-07T13:36:59.533-04:00Snakes are my least favorite thing, in the world, ...Snakes are my least favorite thing, in the world, I think, Grizz!! Although I do like to photograph them as long as I 'see' them first!! lol<br />Your Queen snake might be equivalent to our Gartersnake, doesn't get too big and quite harmless, except to women...<br />Nature is amazing, and full of surprises, no matter how much we think we understand...boniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01775719256913187043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-53598606569280803722011-09-06T13:23:30.369-04:002011-09-06T13:23:30.369-04:00Grace…
Snakes are sneaky, or at least generally s...Grace…<br /><br />Snakes are sneaky, or at least generally shy and unobtrusive. But if you're seeing dead ones on the road, you can bet there are temporarily animate ones still slithering furtively nearby.<br /><br />I've given up trying to understand how or why some people choose to go through life oblivious and uncurious to the questions—big and small—all around. <br /><br />My thirst for answers has never slackened with age or maturity—if I have, in fact, matured, which I at least partially doubt. <br /><br />I do realize the scope of the unknown is too great, to multi-layered to ever master even the smallest aspect. Questions and their answers always lead to more questions, ad infinitum…but for me, that just make the pathway all the more intriguing. <br /><br />Questions beckon. Always. That's why I get up every morning.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-1224728666962493822011-09-06T13:05:01.964-04:002011-09-06T13:05:01.964-04:00Kelly…
(As I said to George, above—sorry to be sl...Kelly…<br /><br />(As I said to George, above—sorry to be slow in replying.)<br /><br />Hey, I hope so—those lovely little queen snakes are certainly welcome here anytime. I'm glad your and Rick got to see one, too. I'll bet it was a pretty day on the river…I KNOW it was a pretty river!Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-46789825892960870982011-09-06T13:01:19.493-04:002011-09-06T13:01:19.493-04:00George…
(Sorry to be slow in replying; see curren...George…<br /><br />(Sorry to be slow in replying; see current post.)<br /><br />I guess, in some respects, I share your doubts that knowledge inevitably leads to understanding. At best, knowledge, as evidenced by an accumulation of facts, is merely part of the equation. I long ago realized that facts and truth are two entirely different animals…and the same can be said for knowledge and understanding.<br /><br />Real knowledge comes via a sort of synthesis of facts, experience, and a fundamental intuitiveness that—it seems likely—involves a sympathetic understanding of the subject; the whole, if you will, a synergy that can appear almost magic. To see this sort of knowledge at work is often to wonder how that person came to KNOW THAT on such a level. How did they learn at such depth? To me, that is genuine knowledge. And there is the point at which it begins to become true understanding. <br /><br />That Eliot quote is smack on…information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom rises above such limitations. It involves the heart as well as the mind—even the soul. Wisdom is a rare human grace.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-33163768059950034752011-09-06T11:20:41.608-04:002011-09-06T11:20:41.608-04:00I have yet to see a snake on my property (I have l...I have yet to see a snake on my property (I have lived here for 5 years), but used to see them a lot where I grew up. So I often wonder where the heck they all are. I've seen a few dead ones on the road, but that's it. So I guess I have my own snake questions. It's good to be curious about what happens around us. Too many people could care less, so some of us have to ask the questions.Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696349282379608085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-17351638212148475162011-09-03T21:11:37.854-04:002011-09-03T21:11:37.854-04:00...I think they came up into the yard just because......I think they came up into the yard just because they like you, Grizz! Rick and I were on the Little Miami yesterday and a Queen snake was in the water about 6 feet from the canoe. She was just hanging in the water looking like a stick. We watched here and eventually she swam away. She was very pretty.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02263405659108175434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-33761271183958359202011-09-03T17:29:57.826-04:002011-09-03T17:29:57.826-04:00That's a fine photo, Grizz, and I enjoyed your...That's a fine photo, Grizz, and I enjoyed your commentary. Yes, I agree that understanding leads to caring, which is often in short supply in our world, but I often question whether knowledge does, if fact, lead to understanding. From my vantage point in the world, it often seems that we have more knowledge than understanding. Theres an apt quotation here from T.S. Eliot: "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowldege we have lost in information."Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959953035812596907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-49205350435758301252011-09-03T11:35:24.672-04:002011-09-03T11:35:24.672-04:00Weaver…
Thank you re. the photo…and a BIG thank y...Weaver…<br /><br />Thank you re. the photo…and a BIG thank you on your comment—for both its content and also simply the fact you read the piece and responded. I'm afraid most folks are just too put off by the little queen snake—snakes not being the most popular nature subject.<br /><br />You're right about questions—not just nature questions, but questions in general. Where would we be if someone hadn't wondered what lay beyond the horizon of that vast blue sea? Or beyond a line of high mountains? Answers to questions lie at the very core of life and society. So many good books—fiction and nonfiction alike—begin with "what if?' or "why not?" Mysteries revolve around questions. <br /><br />The more I learn about even the most commonplace creatures around, the more questions I have…and the greater I realize my near-total ignorance.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322683719539438825.post-23816714912467389202011-09-03T10:59:39.735-04:002011-09-03T10:59:39.735-04:00If people had not asked questions about the puzzle...If people had not asked questions about the puzzles of nature Grizz, we would never have got anywhere would we?<br /><br />Lucky you had the camera for it is a super photo.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.com