Uninvited company

[Old Dog]

Doug and I were coming down from the top of the canyon...
Yup finally made it to the top in one day.

Stopped for a breather and heard what sounded like a small cicada.

We turned just in time to see this fellow sneaking off into the rocks.

This is the first one I have seen this color. this little rattler looks like he could
be a copper head except he makes noise.

This is the best we could get him
You can see the rattle on his tail.

If he really wanted to get away from us so very badly ...
who are we to stop him.

Thom

 

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[stoney56]

Nice pics. Good thing he didn't try to prosecute for trespassing.

 

[juju]

Ahh they don't eat much, and they taste like chicken. hahahahaha Great pics.

 

[Old Dog]

This one was just a bit less then 30 inches,
which is pretty big for one of these .
Did some on line study of him,
he is a sidewinder and they do have a red phase like this one.

Doug saw him before I did.
I had already passed him and had to scramble for the camera and see if I could get a shot
before he got away.

 

[Mental Granny]

Sidewinder ! ok I am glad he was going the other way I dont think you could have scrambled fast enough to get away!

 

[Old Dog]

Evey,
Here is the part I think you missed.

LOL
Thom

 

[wesfrye53]

I see you didn't chase after him to get a head shot!

 

[Old Dog]

Wes,

Just seeing a rattler of anykind out here is pretty rare.
I tried like mad to get a better shot,
but true to form this little guy wanted nothing to do with us.

after several attempts to get a good shot of him,
we decided the better part of valor was to let him alone.

They are fast and can launch themselves pretty far if provoked,

We both agreed it was time to quit before it reached a turning point.

My problem was the camera kept focusing on the sticks in between the snake and the lens.
Dadgummed newfangled digital stuff sometimes just isn't as good as the old ....

LOL
Thom

 

[Mental Granny]

Still an excellent shot! I just like that you saw him before he saw you or rather saw him before "finding" him!

 

[Cynangyl]

I am awfully glad he did not find you guys first too! We see plenty of rattlers around here. I used to catch several a day out at the resort to get them away from the rv and teepee areas. Never did like seeing those buggers! Not so bad seeing them through someone else's camera though! lol

 

[Bridge End Farm]

We see plenty of rattlers around here. I used to catch several a day out at the resort to get them away from the rv and teepee areas.

You caught rattlers?

 

[Wicked Wanda]

Nice pics. Don't forget that a rattlesnake can strike from a coiled position 1 1/2 times their body length. I was born and raised in Az. desert and use to go out at night and catch them in jerky jars from the local store.....LIVE! Then I would stick them in the freezer, wait a few months, take them out and thaw them, sell the skins for belts,hat bands, etc. Sell the meat to the local restaraunt, they specialized in beer battered rattlesnake.....dang, it was delicious.

 

[Old Dog]

Wanda,

I haven't seen you in a while.
Hope all is well with you.

As for the snakes
I hadn't seen one in so long I thought the Buzz was a bug.
Doug saw the snake first.

Thom

 

[Cynangyl]

We see plenty of rattlers around here. I used to catch several a day out at the resort to get them away from the rv and teepee areas.

You caught rattlers?

yeppers...sometimes as many as 5 in a day. I worked security at a remote resort and the doggone snakes tended to come to the more populated areas so in order to make sure the guests were safe I would get a call to come save them from the snakes. I would catch them and take them up in the canyon and kill them, save the rattles for the guys I worked with that wanted them then go back to my other duties. As many as I caught and killed you would think they would be extinct in that area....not so, seemed there were always more than the year before. I did it for 5 years. Was NOT my favorite part of the job.

 

[Bridge End Farm]

We see plenty of rattlers around here. I used to catch several a day out at the resort to get them away from the rv and teepee areas.

You caught rattlers?

yeppers...sometimes as many as 5 in a day. I worked security at a remote resort and the doggone snakes tended to come to the more populated areas so in order to make sure the guests were safe I would get a call to come save them from the snakes. I would catch them and take them up in the canyon and kill them, save the rattles for the guys I worked with that wanted them then go back to my other duties. As many as I caught and killed you would think they would be extinct in that area....not so, seemed there were always more than the year before. I did it for 5 years. Was NOT my favorite part of the job.

wow I'd rather wrestle with a gator than mess with a rattler,

I guess you took them elsewhere so folks would not see them killed? 5 a day? talk about filling the freezer