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kayaksailor — Up close
Published: 2012-05-21 03:48:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 1803; Favourites: 30; Downloads: 13
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Snake season has begun at our house - my husband found a little diamondback rattlesnake two days ago and this beautiful gopher snake this morning!Check out the video of the gopher snake trying to convince us that it was a rattler
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Comments: 57
lol and trying to be scary! we let him go right after I took this photo - we love having them in our yard to help with the pocket gopher population control
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Great capture! 
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Yeah, soooo scary! hahahaha!
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I just watched your video and all I can say is, You are one hell of a brave woman Ruth!!! I am terribly afraid of snakes!!! 
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Very nice Ruth. The video was neat too. We've had young black racer snakes that actually curl up with tails in the middle and shake them for all their worth. Since they have the pattern of a cottonmouth when they're young we really weren't sure what it was at first and were very cautious. Now we just laugh.
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Yup, I understand that intake of breath because the first time we ran into it was during our first hurricane in Florida. We opened the inside front door and there he was in the little space between the screen door and it. We both turned and stared at each other never imagining that we would have to deal with this on top of the weather. Being near the kitchen, I was the first to move. I grabbed an 8 cup clear Pyrex measuring bowl and flipped it over top of him and told everyone I would kill them if they even came near it! I know we had something we had to do outside before things got worse with the storm but darned if I can remember what it was now. All I remember is that snake and how close I had to get to the wee thing to see that it didn't have a rattle. I discussed that and it's lack of triangular head with my husband and we decided it was okay to use a sheet of metal to slide underneath him and kick him back out into the storm. The next weekend....we replaced the screen door.
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We've got a tiny, tiny on in our freezer that has just its first button [link] - I think they're born with it
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Sorry about the late reply Ruth. I can't believe how time flies and the shear amount of work in these courses keeps catching me by surprise. We don't get to see what we need to do ahead of time so it makes it difficult. On top of that my son finally landed a job but since he doesn't drive I've become chauffeur. Well that was until this week when he moved out. It's both heartbreaking and a happy time.
I had a look at the shot of the one you have/had in the freezer and that's pretty interesting. Just out of curiosity I think I would find it hard to let him go. What did you end up doing with him?
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I have to say that at least in my daughter's major the teachers were incredibly good about putting out a syllabus so the students had a better idea of what was going to be asked of them - number and size of papers, when the tests are etc. really helpful to stay up on things...but I remember very different times
Congratulations on your son's job! I'm not looking forward to that time with Cait
The little one is still in the freezer, lol, 'cuz I don't know what to do with it! I skinned a large one that got stuck in the chicken wire of our coop - its head and maybe a foot of body made it through but it got stuck 'cuz (I discovered as I was skinning it
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Ha, my teachers put out a syllabus as well and it outlines the chapters we'll cover but that's it. If they stick to even that much we're always surprised. I just keep telling myself "one more year".
I don't know that I could keep a snake in the freezer that long. I wouldn't want to kill it though. Usually we take animals for a drive and let them go but I always feel bad about it because we could be introducing something that doesn't live there, they might not find what they need to live and we've taken them away from their family and friends. I think they call that last one anthropomorphising! There really isn't a good answer because I wouldn't want it in my house or on my porch when I stepped out. Your story of the other snake is somewhat funny but also horrifying. I would hate to have that happen to me but it would also be cool to see and know that it's doing some rodent control. I think it would make me more tempted to let that other go.
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They didn't always follow it exactly but at least she'd know a paper was "going" to be due
Well, the freezer is in the garage - we use it for extra space with sodas etc. in the refrigerator...
I know your feelings - and anthropomorphizing is exactly it!! I'd love to keep them for their rodent capture abilities but 
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well, I guess that with so many others to do the job...they gotta go!
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Thanks
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Watched your video... quite an actor he was. He better be careful... playing that role could get him shot. LOL
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LOL! No shooting of rattlers on our property 
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Ours is a tiny, tiny community... too small for a post office or its own zip code.
BUT, we do have a volunteer fire department with trained EMT's.
The #1 call to 911 is a rattle snake bite. They actually keep the anti-venum on hand.
We have little variety in our rodent population... deer mouse and pack rats.
Without natural vegetation, the small critters like to seek protection near houses from our harsh weather.
Thus, the snakes follow. The first year we lived here, I nearly stepped on 7 different rattle snakes on 7 different occasions as I walked out my front door. They curl up on our porch, waiting for the mice.
Me, too... much rather have the gopher snakes or other non-venomous reptiles around. I love to see the horned toads.
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wonderful about the fd! we've got a small fire department in our town but that town is maybe 8 miles away LOL. A good thing they stock the anti-venom for sure!
We've got mice and rats; and tons of pocket gophers 
You've made me appreciate not finding them on our porches 
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WOW!!!! this is really cool!
Just stay away from them Rattlers Ruth.... No need for you getting hurt! That's when that Telephoto lens really comes in handy!
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LOL - oh so true!! The only way we get close is when they're behind plastic 
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Checked out the Video... nice job!
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He is a handsome fella! It's so funny that he'll pretend to be a rattler.
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I wouldn;t like the possibility of running into rattlers.. even baby ones...
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lol, we were not expecting them our first year up here - I've lived and hiked all over in southern CA (even places called "Rattlesnake Canyon") and never seen even ONE!! Our first summer up here in northern CA we had 14 within 50 feet of the house
I'm told the little ones are more dangerous as they don't know how to do a 'dry bite' (venom free - bite as a warning)
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Yea.. not something you want to find unexpectedly when you're doing someting..
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