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Spring Extremes
back to Ramblings
You never know what surprises a day is going to hold. Butterfly and I set about on our normal Monday routine, which consists mainly of delivering Meals on Wheels to our regular “victims”. Since this is the highlight of their day, we make it the most important part of our day and let everything else take a back seat.
California (northern California, anyway) is still awash in a blanket of green and wildflowers abound. Driving the back roads is always a treat. We also enjoy visiting the “older” gardens of the clients we serve, where the roses and irises have been lovingly tended for decades. Sometimes the gardens are showing signs of neglect, due to their owners’ inability to physically tend to them as diligently as in years past. I’m always tempted to stop and weed, or deadhead, or prune – but time is short; the meals must be delivered within a certain time-period and visiting with the home-bound seniors takes priority.
Butterfly often takes flowers from our gardens to share and they are always greatly appreciated. Today she took everyone stalks of rattlesnake grass. She explained that they could be kept as a dried arrangement. If so desired, the seeds can be shaken out once they are fully dried so that each person can have their own crop of rattlesnake grass next year.
On our way home we spotted this little newborn at a horse ranch not far from home. I couldn’t resist pulling over and taking a few photos for your viewing pleasure.
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nothing cuter than a newborn foal
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Mom was not crazy that I was eyeing her baby. She lured him away from the fence, much to my dismay. How was I to get a decent photograph without her cooperation?
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mama was determined to keep him moving away
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Once I got home it was time to change out of my “town” clothes, get into my “grubbies” and do some gardening (changing clothes is something I do frequently). The time had come to pull out forget-me-nots, which have gone to seed and need to make way for the planting of some things like geraniums and other odds and ends. Butterfly had found some plants on sale and they were piling up on my old picnic table back under the trees, which is where we stash plants that we bring home from town. I also had a few coleus and impatiens that were ready to go into my pots on the deck.
Big ol’ Lucky dog, who is my constant shadow, followed me up the path to the shed, which is where I was headed to get my gardening tools and gardening cart. Suddenly I heard that noise that makes us country bumpkins freeze in our tracks; that noise that makes our hearts jump into our throats; that noise that makes us wish we had on thigh-high boots instead of flip-flops. RATTLESNAKE! It’s 10 times worse than the Jaws theme music.
Not knowing where “Fang” was located, I slowly turned my head to look behind me, and could hear the rattling noise coming from near Lucky, several feet behind (presumably beyond the snake’s striking distance). So I spun around and Lucky realized at the same time that the noise was next to him. He jumped away, which I was quite happy to see (some dogs go right to it, stupidly). I called him to come to me, just as old, nearly deaf Romeo started wandering down the path from Butterfly’s house. I could see Fang, the rattler, by now, and he was a big one, curled up right next to the path under a solar light and some phlox. He was rattling a warning, but seemed somewhat relaxed and not too angry that we had disturbed him. I’ve seen them a lot madder.
I had no idea where Butterfly and her two dogs were, but I started mentally running down the locations of my dogs. I quickly put Lucky and Romeo in to dog pen (where we lock up some of the dogs when we’re not home). I took a different path to get safely by Fang and back to the house. I found Hellan coming around from the front of the house to investigate the action. She has already been bitten once by a rattler, so I put her inside the house with the rest of the dogs.
I called Butterfly on the phone – no answer. I left a message telling I’d found a big rattler and to make sure her two dogs were inside her house. I yelled for her, to no avail.
Then I did what any normal, red-blooded country gal does in this situation. I grabbed my camera!
Thank goodness for a zoom lens! That looks like about 8 rattles to me, but who’s counting?
Then I did the next thing that any normal, red-blooded country gal does in this situation. I gathered my snake wrangling gear.
Most of my neighbors (and everyone else I know) just kill these guys. Oh, who am I kidding? I think it’s safe to say, ALL of my neighbors (and everyone else I know) just kill these guys. I can’t bring myself to kill anything, least of all a snake. If they can’t live out here, of all places, in the middle of nowhere, where can they live? And all they’re doing is practicing good rodent/reptile control. Why wouldn’t we want them? I even stop my car to move them off the road when I catch them warming themselves on the pavement. Call me crazy.
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all I need to "rescue" a snake
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I am so very glad I invested in this snake catching pole last year. After catching a little baby rattler with a grabber from the hospital, I knew I wouldn’t want to tangle with a big snake with that wimpy little tool. This one worked perfectly and I snagged him on the first try (I came up behind him). He was madder than a wet hen, but he wasn’t going anywhere but into the garbage can.
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mad, but we were both safe
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no mistaking that viper head
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Off I went on a hike, now wearing boots instead of flip-flops, carrying Fang safely in the trash can. I took him far, far away and released him next to a creek.
There should be plenty of good hunting for him – enough to keep him there, and out of my garden. I hope so, anyway.
This is why all my dogs have their rattlesnake vaccinations – and they get it early in the spring. There’s no guarantee that it’ll save their lives, but it’s one more weapon in my arsenal.
I just think it’s awfully coincidental that Butterfly was traipsing around handing out rattlesnake grass on the same day that I ran across Fang. And then she was nowhere to be found when I could have used a little assistance … hmmmm ….
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