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Snake Handler
Just got back from my first bike ride since having surgery a few months back, and it felt great to hit the road again. I'm definitely out of shape compared to before the surgery - in my bike shorts, I probably looked like a can of biscuits exploded - but I did manage to ride the hills without keeling over.
The highlight of the ride was when I saw this little feller in the road:
Yes, that's a rattlesnake, and it's actually the second time I've seen one while biking. The first time was much more memorable. See, I had gone for a longer ride that time, and had to stop for a nature call. No restroom was in sight, so I climbed down an embankment where I would be hidden from passers-by. I had barely started to take care of business when I heard a very loud rattle directly in front of me. Back then I had no idea there were rattlesnakes here in Tennessee, but there was no mistaking that sound. I looked up to see a medium-sized rattler just a couple feet away, coiled up and looking very angry at me for soiling his favorite resting place.
Now, for the sake of my female readers, I should explain that when a guy is exposed like that, he definitely doesn't want to see something with sharp fangs staring at him.
Luckily, I was able to back away - veerrryyy slowly - and avoid an embarrassing bite.
Not long after that ride, I was biking in the very same spot when an owl suddenly swooped down in front in me, grabbed a snake that was hiding in some grass, then flew back in front of me with the snake dangling from its talons. I remember thinking to myself, "I hope that's the same damn snake that surprised me."
living in arizona i can say that i don't think that is a rattlesnake...those are unique markings that aren't prevalent on a rattler...where are you located...rattlers don't typically live in that type of terrain i see in the photo...
Posted by: timh | Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at 03:57 PM
Tim, it was definitely a rattlesnake - I saw the rattle. There are two different types of rattlers here, and there are pics of them at:
http://nashville.about.com/cs/animalspets/a/snakes.htm
Posted by: Nick Bradbury | Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at 04:08 PM
You could have spoken Slytherin to it and told it to leave. Harry Potter can do it, why cant us?
Posted by: t94xr | Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at 08:35 PM