Season 2 (Spring) Episode 3 (Turkey Run)

On Today’s episode of Adventures with Gary The Wood Sprite: Season 2, (Spring) episode 3 (Turkey Run). It’s April 1, 2026. We started again at the Ward Road mountain bike trailhead at Caesar Creek State Park but instead of going south, we went north and took the turkey run mountain bike trail. This was my very first time finding a snake! Yay!

This snake is a cutie patootie named Rachel – I asked, we spoke. She’s cool. We’re cool. She is a black rat snake.

Here are some lessons when finding a snake in the woods: Stay calm and don’t panic. Your first instinct might be fear, but most snakes aren’t aggressive unless threatened. Sudden movements can make things worse. Staying calm helps you think clearly and avoid provoking it. Respect wildlife boundaries. A snake isn’t there to bother you—you’re in her house. Give Rachel space! Slow, deliberate movement is safer. Backing away slowly is usually the best move. Quick or erratic actions can trigger defensive behavior. Don’t try to harm or relocate a snake. It plays an important role in the ecosystem (like controlling pests). Rachel saw me and was suspicious while lying in the middle of the trail so I slowly waited until she kept on traveling into the woods.

Something else interesting about this adventure: I found, in a creek, under water, what looked like a pirate treasure chest filled with gold doubloons like in the movie The Goonies. However, after some digging, I came to the conclusion that it was trash in the form of an old dryer. Dang!

I also found loads of nature treasures! Ramps (tasty/yum), white trillium (different from S1E6), black cherry tree, Osage orange tree root, a no trespassing sign that looks like it got eaten by a tree, downy yellow violet, shagbark hickory, some kind of a mining bee (I also found her underground tunnel), bullfrog, blue heron prints, trash: (mylar balloon: HATE!, deer stand, old bridge support I beam), bunny fur, redbud tree buds, Carolina mantle slug, yellow buckeye buds, eastern red cedar, cudweed, box elder buds, pitch pine pinecone, american climacium moss, eastern cottonwood bud, old paper wasp nest (empty, phew), last years faded turkey tail mushrooms, an old drain covered in moss, another bee (cellophane), a white flower called a rue anemone, and fiddleheads which are the young, unfurled leaves of ferns.

But wait! There’s more: I found a bug called a red velvet mite. It has 8 legs (so it’s an arachnid, related to spiders and ticks). They are harmless to humans. They don’t bite or sting. In fact, they’re beneficial. They feed on small insects and eggs, helping control pests. They’re often seen after rain when humidity is high.

Do you like snakes? Ever seen one in the wild? Do you know how to tell a non-venomous from a venomous?

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