Blog

Head out of the water like a periscope, the northern water snake glides toward the shore, gripping its prey sideways. We form a semi-circle and patiently sit through one act of the ongoing drama that is the circle of life. Time passes, and our scaly companion seems to weary of the spotlight. It swims away, the small catfish still held tightly in its jaws, looking for a more secluded spot. It’s lunchtime for my family adventure camp participants. We get out sandwiches and steal glances toward the pontoon of our beached boat, our snake’s new hiding spot. We speculate on how long the snake’s lunch will take. Some of us lose interest. We swim. We walk along the beach. We check in on the snake. Now it’s under a log. Expressions of alarm when it appears that our snake is trying to consume the catfish tail-first. Great relief when we realize that it’s doing it “right.” The catfish slowly disappears head-first into the impossibly wide mouth of our snake. Bon appetite! ~Steve Lewis, JLT Naturalist Guide and JWC Instructor