Unexpected Surprises (an oxymoron)

Why have I posted this somewhat blurry picture of a hole in the ground? A seemingly pointless and small (2 inches in diameter at most) and blurry little hole in the ground?

Because this, my friends, is the home of a snake. A rather venomous one.

My sister-in-law swore that it was a Red Bellied Black Snake, but I did a little research and they don't live here. More likely, it's a Lowland Copperhead. They can look somewhat similar, though, and when you run into a snake here, you don't go chasing it to pick it up, play with it, and study it. Unless you're some kind of stupid.

And yes, we did see the snake. Several times.

My mother and sister-in-law and I were walking into a paddock to start a massive bonfire (that's another story entirely) and as we were going through the front gate, my mother-in-law grabs her daughter's arm and starts stuttering, "Da-Da-Da...!" as I continue walking for a half second, then Danella looks down and yells, "SNAKE!"

I saw maybe the last foot of it slithering into some long grass about a yard to my left. 2 seconds earlier and we could have been trodding on it.

Oh, and this was a chilly, wet, rainy day too. Two days before, when we'd been rifling through tons of branches and fallen trees perfect for snakes, we saw none. But again, another story.

After we'd lit the fire, My mother-in-law and her son went down (him carrying a giant club he'd found) to look for the snake again. And again, despite the lack of sun and the presence of rain and cold, it was out about another foot and a half. So he swung the club and missed, but stomped down all the grass it was going into. And that's when they found it's hole.

The third time we went by it, it's little head was poking out. Again. I'm not stupid enough to point my camera directly down a hole that is known to have a venomous snake down it just for a decent photo. Thus the terrible and blurry photo of a pointless-looking hole.