It was stressful! NDR

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
I had just gotten back to the house after feeding the dogs when Bev told me that she was going to go water her garden. So, i settled in to check emails, etc., and found myself quite sure that I could hear her voice.

I walked into the kitchen and opened the door to hear this booming request to bring a hoe. I knew what that meant. She was long gone by the time I grabbed my camera and a long handled hoe. "It is right behind the garden fence on the southeast side, " she said.

Well, I can see why she was so jittery. The female western diamondback rattler was 44 inches long with a hefty look to it. While taking pictures I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was however being that she is territorial, we are, too! She had to go, unfortunately.
Al

This is the first snake we have seen on our property for about 3 years I guess. Somehow she had lost part of her rattles. They ended abruptly with a large rattle on top and that is not normal.

When I built Bev's garden back in 1998 I made sure it was surrounded by a 3 foot fence of 1/2 inch welded wire. I know that they can climb up and over but they do get stopped on the ground. She was pretty aggressive but with our hot weather that has been on going for 45 days, i can see why.



_MG_8744_zpswjb0u27z.jpg
[/URL]


_MG_8748_zpsytkfjmzm.jpg
[/URL]


_MG_8753_zpssos2gpdh.jpg
[/URL]


_MG_8758_zpsmyovrpmy.jpg
[/URL]
 
Stunning looking animals that do so much to help keep the rodent population in check. I do however feel your need to rid your property of them. A misguided step by your wife in the garden or a curious dog would not end well.
 
The white scales on her back....is that why they are called 'Diamond backs?'....I had always believed it was the pattern of the dark vs light, but those small white scales sparkle like diamonds in my opinion.

beautiful pictures! thanks for sharing.
 
When it was still legal, back in the day. A good friend of mine hunted Rattle Snakes with the famous Jake Bingle, in NW and North Central PA. They would catch them, milk them for their venom and then release them. John had many certificates of appreciation from all the places they sent venom.

Hallers Grocery in Tionesta, PA had a display case out front, with Rattlers in it that they had caught. In all the years that he did it, John only killed 2 Rattlers that I recall, and we ate both. Belts were made with their skins. His large plexi-glass holding box, with Ratters in it always scared the hell outta me. John had no fear of them, only deep respect.

Now the snakes are protected as they should be, and both men have Walked On.

Last summer a young man in central PA reached into a wood pile, to feed the late night camp fire. A Rattle Snake bit him, and he died the next morning. God Rest His Soul.

John always told me concerning Rattlers. "Watch where you put your hands." Every time I climb a bank, hill, rock, or where ever in the outdoors, woods, field and stream I recall those words.

Thanks for the photo's. Glad the Mrs. and you are OK.
 
Great photos, Al. I'm not sure when I'm jealous that you have some cool wildlife that I don't, or glad I don't have to deal with the threat of poisonous snakes.

There are no poisonous snakes in Maine, though we have enough places named "Rattlesnake" for me to think we probably had them historically. NH and VT still have small remnant populations but Quebec and New Brunswick never had any, so I suspect any historical populations in Maine were scattered and isolated, probably in the southern part of the state.

There is a current controversy over reintroducing rattlesnakes to an uninhabitated island in a reservoir in Massachusetts.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/df...ians/endangered-rattlesnake-conservation.html

https://www.facebook.com/Petition-t...n-ProjectDCR-Accountability-1116831291701303/

I tend to side with the snakes and those who want to restore them, and against wildlife management by Facebook petition, but some might say that's easy to say from my safe distance.



When I lived in snake country after college, I had absolutely no snake sense. I remember spending an entire day bushwhacking in Central PA to fish a trout stream on a remote chunk of state forest. I fished my way a couple of miles upstream from a road crossing, then hiked a compass course back out to the dirt road to return back to my car. When I got to the road in late afternoon, I couldn't figure out why there was a steady stream cars slowly driving the road with passengers looking intently at the road and shoulders.

Finally, one of them stopped and offered me a ride, so I asked them what they were doing. "Looking for snakes," they said.

"What kind?" I asked.

"Mostly rattlers, but copperheads sometimes. We've only seen two rattlers today."

I never got rattled or saw a snake in several more years fishing that area, but I was a whole lot more cautious about where I put my hands and feet on subsequent trips.
 
Jeff - I'm guessing you were there during the local event called the "Rattlesnake Roundup". It used to draw lots of folks, but I never went when it was going on.
 
Al, I get it that they have their place in the world but not that close to me. The danger to dogs is my biggest fear. Keep your eyes open.
 
Jeff - I'm guessing you were there during the local event called the "Rattlesnake Roundup". It used to draw lots of folks, but I never went when it was going on.
Click to expand...

It would have been circa 1990. I think somewhere around Pine Creek or Kettle Creek, but the circle of uncertainty about that "somewhere near" is pretty large.
 
Jim, I have to agree, but then was quickly reminded of a particular hunt with my friend, Carl, in Alaska. We were after a black bear we spotted on a mountainside close to Cooper's Landing on the Kenai Peninsula. We were in hot pursuit when they hit. They being insects. Have you in your life ever prayed for a face mask, goggles and rubber bands? The latter to put around your ankles and wrists. We literally ran all the way back down the mountain because the insects were "that" bad.
Al
 
Well said. Yes, when given the choice with family being the ultimate, you know what you have to do.
Al
 
If it's ok with you Al, I will stick with toads scaring the crap out of me when I least expect it. I do have copperheads in my area but so far have been very fortunate that my family and dogs have not been bitten.


Dave
 
Vince, I know I have mentioned this story before. My good friend, Hal, who left this world way too early in life because of a heart attack, told me a story that I will never forget. He had a contract with a company that made cowboy boots. They wanted rattlesnake skins and since he had a family to support this was one of his ways to make some extra cash.

One day he was on his way home from a piece of land he had purchased on the Rio Grande he spotted a snake. (I still park my truck there to go duck hunting) While driving the gravel road back to the highway he saw a rattler crossing the road. Hal quickly dispatched the snake, then cut off its head and tossed it into his truck.

When he got home he proceeded to skin out the snake. Once done, he tossed the skinned body on the work bench and turned to hang the skin. He turned back to the bench and was struck right square in the solar plexus with the stump of where the head of the snake had been. It had coiled and struck. Since Hal was wearing a white T-shirt he told me you could easily see where the strike was. That experience led to more than one nightmare.

Just another reason for me not eating a snake.
Al
 
Mike, I agree with beautiful and helpful but don't know about the last one. I guess in all honesty care not to know. Just me.
Al
 
Joe, I sure wished that I knew. I can tell you that this female had a different look about her especially with those slight white markings she possessed. The predominant diamond pattern that exists this specie is well defined especially on the thickest part of the body or in the middle of the snake. The last shot of it spread out shows it the best. I can tell shades of colors but don't know what colors I might be looking at. Some western diamondback rattlesnakes have much more red on them than others.
Al
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top