Serpent Sunday

I've started a new friendship with a snake that likes to sun himself in the afternoons on the road leaving the winery.

  The first time I saw Benny (that's what I've decided his name is) I nearly ran him over.  After stopping to take a picture I was able to herd him off the roadside with my bike pump.  Today I nearly ran over him again, leading me to believe that Benny is one dedicated serpent when it comes to sunbathing.  

Here he is beating a hasty retreat after I passed over him with my shadow.  

Research on the interweb has led me to believe that Benny is a Pacific Gopher Snake, or Pituophis catenifer catenifer.  Its a nice little reminder when I see animals at work that the wine industry is more than tasting rooms and tanks and barrels, that the product that we sell comes out of the ground from living things.  Benny is a natural part of the system that surrounds the winery, and I'm happy to work for a company that understands and appreciates the natural order of things and gives me such a nice place to work.  It'd be nice though if Benny asserted his role in the food chain more often and helped us out with some more gophers.