The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in collaboration with the Catskill Science Collaborative, presented “Snakes in the Catskills: A Primer,” the latest in its lecture series, on June 5. Presenter John Vanek, is a zoologist at the New York Natural Heritage Program in Syracuse.
There are thirteen kinds of snakes in the Catskills. Only two are venomous. Vanek defined the Catskills area as including the counties of Greene, Delaware, Ulster, Sullivan, and Dutchess.
John Vanek said, “Snakes are just amazing creatures. They are very misunderstood.” He added, “The more we understand about them, the more we can explain to our friends, you don’t have to kill them every time you see them.” He said humans have an “ingrained fear of snakes,” which he tries to help with education about snakes, starting with children.
He went on to say about snakes, “They can think. They have personalities that you can measure. They form kinships with other snakes and some snakes are good mothers.”
Of the thirteen kinds of snakes, the most common are Garter snakes. He said the females are bigger than the males as with many snakes who give birth to live young. They eat worms, small amphibians, and mammals.
Garter snakes have two yellow stripes and come in a variety of colors.
They can grow to two to three feet long and live in meadows, wetlands, and woods.
The Northern Water Snake can grow to three to four feet and live in streams and rivers. They eat fish and frogs. They are more common in the Hudson River Valley. Vanek said water snakes “have a temper,” and will nip you touch them. They are not venomous.
The Black Rat Snake grows to five to six feet long and lives on a diet of small mammals and birds. They love to climb trees and live on cliffs and ledges at the eastern edge of the Catskills. Met on a trail, they stand their ground and may rear up and hiss.
The Eastern Milk Snake hunts mice, small mammals, and other snakes.
They were mistakenly believed to drink milk from cows. They are in meadows and farms and are nocturnal.
The Northern Ring-Necked Snake has a ring on its neck and a bright yellow belly. It grows to about ten to twelve inches. They eat salamanders and baby snakes. They live in moist, rocky areas.
The Northern Brown Snake can grow to twelve inches. “They are known as “the gardener’s friend” said Vanek because they eat slugs, snails, and worms. There has been a decline in their numbers for unknown reasons.
The Black Racer is a shiny black snake that eats other snakes. Its numbers are declining in the Catskills. It grows to three to five feet.
John Vanek, is a zoologist at the New York Natural Heritage Program.John Vanek
Another garden helper is the Northern Red Bellied Snake. It is a small snake ten to twelve inches long. It eats slugs and snails. Its habitat is woods and meadows. To escape predators, it “flips over to show its red belly,” hopefully scaring them, and zips away.
The Eastern Ribbon Snake lives on the edges of wetlands. It can grow to be two to three feet and about as “thick as string cheese.” It eats salamanders and frogs.
The Smooth Green snake lives in meadows and bogs. It eats caterpillars, spiders, and other insects. It is about ten to twelve inches in length. Its numbers have declined due to insecticides and habitat loss.
The Eastern Hog Nosed Snake burrows in the ground and favors toads for its meals. There are a wide variety of colors. It can grow to three to fourfeet. It can puff up its neck in a “bluff display” which makes it look like a cobra which causes people to kill it out of fear. There are no cobras in the United States.
The Copperhead is one of two venomous snakes in the Catskills and can grow to two to three feet long and can be as thick as a golf ball. They are uncommon but can be localized. They camouflage well in leaves or on trees and are hard to spot. They eat frogs, small mammals, and cicadas. They like rocky outcrops and forests.
The Timber Rattlesnake can grow to four to five feet and is as thick as a baseball. They like rocky outcrops and forests. They eat mice, shrews, chipmunks, and other small mammals.
Rattlesnakes will sit along a scent trail, often a log, with their head up, waiting up to three weeks for a small mammal. Once they inject venom, they wait for the animals to die, follow its scent trail, and eat it, “with no fuss,” said Vanek.
“Fangs are like hypodermic needles and super fragile,” said Vanek. If fangs are broken, they won’t be able to hunt. “Rattlesnakes don’t want to bite us. Biting is a last resort.”
Vanek then mentioned safety measures if you are out walking in the woods.
“Leave snakes alone.” He emphasized. “Don’t pick up a snake.”
Do not step over logs because a rattlesnake could be waiting on the other side, head up, for its prey. Instead step up on a log or rock and look over before putting your foot down.
Stay on trails because there is less risk of meeting a snake. Wear long pants and boots and carry a cell phone with emergency numbers.
If bitten by a snake, the only first aid he recommends is “to get to a hospital.” Take a picture of the snake if you can. “The treatment for any snake in New York is the same.”
Timber rattlesnakes have been declining in numbers due to habitat loss and fragmentation caused by building roads.
If you see a snake, you can be a citizen scientist and photograph the snake. Upload a picture to www.iNaturalist.org or nynhp.org/contribute-data.
Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton's Main Street in 1985.
A highlight of the event will be New Yorker cartoonists Liza Donnelly and Michael Maslin, who will create simple, impromptu drawings inside the main store.
Hermans is the daughter of Oblong co-founder Dick Hermans, who opened the store in 1975 with a vision of creating a welcoming space for lovers of good books and music. With a $10,000 loan, he and founding partner Holly Nelson opened their first 400-square-foot shop on Main Street — now home to Demitasse.
As the business grew, Oblong expanded into Harold’s Apparel – now Cottage+Camp – in 1981, and eventually purchased its current building, then an antiques store. The staff walked the books across the street by hand during the move. Oblong Jr., located next door in what was once a shoemaker’s storefront, came later, as did a second location in Rhinebeck.
Dick Hermans, left, and Suzanna Hermans pose for a picture together in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton's Main Street.Photo provided
Today, Suzanna Hermans is a second-generation owner of Oblong Books. Her parents met at the bookstore, and she has fond memories of going to preschool in the mornings and spending afternoons roaming the shelves with her father, always with a book in hand. As soon as she could see over the counter, Hermans would assist customers, recalling how exciting it was to finally be old enough to take credit card payments. “My dad was smart enough not to push me into it and let me come back to it naturally,” she said of taking over the family business after college.
A lot can happen to a local business over the course of half a century. Navigating shifts in technology, consumer behavior and the broader economy, it’s no small feat that Oblong has not only endured but become an iconic fixture of the community. “Bookstores have had ups and downs over the years, and we’ve been there to see most of them,” Hermans said.
In the 1990s, the rise of big-box chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders contributed to a steep decline in independent bookstores across the country. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the number of physical bookstores in the U.S. dropped from 13,136 in 1992 to just 6,448 by 2016.
The emergence of eBooks and Amazon further disrupted the industry. “They devalued books and taught consumers that books mean nothing,” Hermans said, adding, “Amazon will continue to be a challenge for us on a national scale.” Oblong has compensated for that by offering online purchasing and a digital storefront.
More recently, bookstores are facing the threat of censorship and efforts to limit access to books. “Today, things are crazy, and there are a lot of communities that are working very hard to ban books — including queer stories — from stores and libraries,” Hermans said. “We’re seeing a lot of freedom of speech and freedom to read issues as our next challenge, but I hope we’re shielded from that here in Millerton.”
Through it all, Hermans said it has been the support of the local community that helps Oblong weather these industry-wide changes.
“One thing that spans the whole length of it is our incredible staff that has worked for us over these last 50 years,” Hermans said. Since its founding, Oblong has employed more than 200 people — many of whom have stayed for five to 40 years. “Folks tend to stay a long time, which is an incredible testament to their admiration for bookselling,” she said. “But we also work really hard to be a great place to work.”
Even a casual walk through the store reveals the passion of its booksellers. Handwritten staff recommendations known as “shelf talkers” and colorful hand-drawn displays embody the charm and personality of an independent bookstore while a diverse, up-to-the-minute selection reflects the store’s commitment to a high-quality bookstore experience.
“Our staff picks are truly special,” Hermans said. With 24 booksellers across the two locations, each with their own distinct tastes, the result is a diverse and unique collection of recommendations. Hermans said the store’s “shelf talkers” are among Oblong’s most popular features. Some recommendations sell 20, 50 or even 100 copies — books that are often overlooked elsewhere.
Over the decades, Oblong has also become a destination for top-tier literary events featuring celebrity authors, local favorites and emerging voices. “We love our authors,” Hermans said. “We’ve built up a reputation that you can send your best-touring authors here to the Hudson Valley and they’re going to sell their books at our events.”
She adds that there is an “incredible depth” of literary talent in the region. Oblong now participates in approximately 150 events per year, an impressive number for an independent bookstore.
Though much has changed, the heart of Oblong Books remains the same: books, music and community. Originally called Oblong Books and Records, a section for vinyl and CDs can still be found in each location — a nod to the store’s musical roots.
“A lot of our shoppers are hardcore music lovers and people who like the novelty of buying a record or an LP,” Hermans said, noting that while music doesn’t drive profits, it remains part of the store’s identity. Her mother is a musician, and her father, “in all of his spare time,” she jokes, is a DJ for a folk radio show on WKZE.
Fifty years in, Oblong remains a cultural cornerstone of the Hudson Valley — not just a store, but a gathering place, a literary sanctuary and a celebration of the written word.
Dick Hermans is a member of the board of LJMN Media, publisher of The Millerton News.
