(Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo) Western fox snakes are common in the Upper Peninsula, where the population is stable.

Advisory: Mature content, though in snake form.

Last Saturday had my mom’s youngest son and wife; her grandddaughter and two great-grandchildren; and grandson, wife and toddler great-grandddaughter all up for a marvelous weekend of good food and great company. (Pasties — mandatory — and lasagna, with mom’s cornettis based on a recipe as close as possible to what we used to get from Schinderle’s Italian Maid Bakery).

While Saturday evening featured the weekend highlight of a 4-year-old great-grandson hooking a northern in his first fishing outing on Six Mile Lake, earlier in the day had various family members concentrated on getting the yard and dock in order for the summer.

None were alarmed when they came across snakes while working. Even the young ones know the species up here — mainly fox and garter out in the open, with some more reclusive smaller red-bellied and ring-necked usually hiding underneath logs or stones — are non-venomous and not aggressive, choosing to flee if given the opportunity. Charlotte, the oldest of my mom’s great-grandchildren, was photographed in June 2018 petting a gentle garter in her first visit as a 1-year-old.

It was her mom, Chelsey, who first raised Saturday she’d come across two snakes fighting. I grabbed the camera.

At first it did seem like one snake was attacking the other. But it quickly became apparent what was going on: This was a mating pair.

While the smaller female noticed our attention and tried to get into the heavier brush, the biting one–huge and, I’m assuming, male– was fully focused on one thing only. I will refrain from further comment on behavior.

Online sites advise that fox snakes primarily mate in June and July, so this pair fit that schedule. If the mating was successful, she’ll lay six to 29 eggs that will hatch between late August and fall, according to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web site.

In the almost 10 years that I’ve now lived in the Upper Peninsula, it seems like the fox snakes have become more common, or perhaps it’s just our property; fox snakes favor habitats that are near water and, since we feed the birds, the local rodent population is probably in good shape from the sunflower seeds that get spilled on the ground. So prey — small mammals, birds and amphibians, which it kills by constriction — should be ample for a fox snake seeking a meal.

The Upper Peninsula has what is considered a stable population of western fox snakes, while Lower Michigan has the eastern variety listed as threatened in the state and almost completely found in counties along Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Habitat loss is thought to be the main reason for the eastern fox snake’s decline.

“Pine snakes” tend to get a strong reaction, often not one that has a good outcome for an animal that likely wasn’t looking for a confrontation. But there’s really no downside to having these snakes around your property– they’re natural rodent control yet are too small and meek to pose a threat to people or even pets.

So I’m hoping by late summer or early fall we might see small fox snakes in the yard.

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A reminder that this time of year the other major reptiles in the region — turtles — will be hauling out to lay eggs, so watch for them trying to cross roadways. If you can safely help — emphasis on safely– pull over and carefully pick up the turtle by holding it between the front and back legs if it’s small. With a snapping turtle, a better approach is to use something to nudge it along, like a shovel, or get it to bite an object and then gently pull it to the roadside. Don’t pick a snapping turtle up by the tail, as that can injure it. And always move the turtle in the direction it was headed.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.