A new pet

We recently cut down several 125 ft tall pine trees that were blocking out afternoon sun. The lumberjacks did a stellar job, they were able to cut the trees without even getting them to fall on the house!

At the location where all the pine needles were stacked along with the cut branches our caretaker found a snake for us today.

Growing up I had my assortment of various pets. From baby alligators to turtles, fish in tanks, both fresh water and salt water.

I have never been a big fan of snakes for some reason. In the past I have to confess that if I have seen them in the past, I dispatched them as quickly as I could.

Working for years on mountain tops of California at our radio relay antenna locations, it was not uncommon for us to run across rattlesnakes that either came out from under our buildings to sun themselves or check out the food supply.
In those instances I either tried to drive over them and make them flatter or use a real long shovel and sever the front from the back.

Here is a picture of what he brought me today. I was going to take a better shot but I found that my battery needed charging so I grabbed the Iphone and the picture is not the best.

On one hand the snake looks like a rattler, but the end of the body had no rattle, or perhaps was not developed enough, my caretaker had a large rod jammed through his mouth, clear through to be sure that it wouldn't hurt his  young son.

So if you know what the beast may be let me know the details so I can let my wife know she can walk around the property without shotgun..