Rattlesnake Season
The weather is warming up quickly, which means that the rattlers are emerging again. We've encountered two beauties near the vineyard just this week.
Last year, Star the Dog decided to take one on, and received a nasty strike to the nose for her trouble. She obviously hasn't learned her lesson, as she went straight for our latest visitor, pouncing and barking and generally getting it nice and riled up--coiled and sizzling--just in time for us to have to deal with it.
Coming from the UK, where the most dangerous animal I ever encountered was a large cantankerous swan, this whole rattlesnake thing is quite daunting. Where's Austin Stevens when you need him?
Elsbeth
Escafeld Vineyards
Last year, Star the Dog decided to take one on, and received a nasty strike to the nose for her trouble. She obviously hasn't learned her lesson, as she went straight for our latest visitor, pouncing and barking and generally getting it nice and riled up--coiled and sizzling--just in time for us to have to deal with it.
Coming from the UK, where the most dangerous animal I ever encountered was a large cantankerous swan, this whole rattlesnake thing is quite daunting. Where's Austin Stevens when you need him?
Elsbeth
Escafeld Vineyards
Labels: rattlesnake, vineyard
4 Comments:
I don't think I'd take too kindly to having rattlesnakes in my yard. And your poor puppy. We had Water Moccasins when I lived in Southern VA, but I only ever saw them during some flooding after a hurricane. Hope the puppy avoids being bitten this year!
Thanks Sonadora, we'll be keeping a very close eye on her this year!
Or Steve Austin. Or Austin Powers!
I see the occasional buzzworm out on the trails, though not usually until late Spring. Once I saw two rattlers mating in the middle of the trail. If you recall the image of the caduceus, e.g. the logo of the American Medical Association, you can imagine these two snakes intertwined, lifting themselves as far off the ground as possible, only to flop in the dust, then rise again to twine around each other in the opposite spiral. It's really something to see - but not too closely!
Hi Russ, that must be amazing to see! We haven't seen any more, not even the gopher or king snakes, probably due to the weather turning a little cooler.
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