Warning: If snakes give you the heebie jeebies, scroll no more and wait for tomorrow’s post.
Warning No. 2: Seriously.
Warning No. 3: I’m really not kidding.
Are you still reading?
(Hopefully this is enough lines of text to take up space on most phones or tablets or computer screens?)
You were warned.
After a summer of fastidiously watching where I step and kneel and sit and seeing most snakes alive or dead on the area roads (as opposed to where I’m out hiking), this little fellow/a surprised me as I did a turn-and-step move – before watching where my step would land after I turned.
It did NOT rattle; I caught just the motion of the slither and performed one of my patented levitation-slash-backward-step (it may have involved a bit of a jump) moves. I think we surprised each other.
It quickly slithered into a nearby shadscale (one of our salt-desert shrubs) and loosely coiled around the inner stem with its head held up through a natural “window” in the vegetation – all the better through which to keep tabs on me … and allow me to photograph it from a lovely-safe distance (I do have a very long lens, after all).
Taken from a bit higher perspective, this (though soft as the focus was on that distinctive head) shows a bit of the pattern on its … back? Dorsal aspect, I suppose. 🙂 Another scaly critter with dorsal spots sted stripes!
And young. While it seemed healthy (read: it had some width/circumference to its body/length), it had only two tiny little rattles/buttons at the tip of its tail.
I went off in pursuit of other (safer) photographable things, and when I returned, snakey was gone. (I don’t think that made me any more relieved, not knowing where it went!?)
I’ve never known exactly what species of rattlesnakes we have here in Southwest Colorado. Ours are fairly short – no more than a couple of feet, generally (the ones I’ve seen) – even the ones with multiple rattles/buttons. While the one pictured above seemed “normal” in length, comparatively speaking, it had just a couple of little buttons (and unfortunately, I was too busy in my levitation mode to get pix of that end before it cozied up under the shadscale). This University of Colorado website has a good photographic listing of the state’s snakes, and what we apparently have are “midget faded rattlesnakes” – second-to-last slide.
This Colorado Parks and Wildlife site gives a lot more information about midget faded rattlesnakes – without the pix if you do, indeed, get the heebies just from looking at the critters (and if you do, how are you still reading this post?!). Having learned to levitate fairly late in life, I will say that while I appreciate their role in the ecosystem and always leave them alone – taking only pix and as quickly as I can so I can leave them to their snakey pursuits – they give yours truly the heebie big jeebies, too!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Snakes have always fascinated me – really injoyed the pictures shown – but admit I have the whole levitation thing down if I come upon one unexpectedly!!1
Right?! Levitation is a *thing*!
Whoa, TJ! Mr. Rattler has his signature viper scowl pointed right at you! So glad you’re adept at going airborne in a propitious manner when required. When my hubby took me to the desert for the first time, he schooled me in how to conduct myself safely in rattler country. Seems you’ve learned those lessons well too, TJ! Love your photos of this one…”from a lovely-safe distance.” 😄
Definitely critters to be aware of. I spent some childhood years in Texas, and the rattlers were WAY bigger there than they are here (not to mention cottonmouths and copperheads). I try to stay aware wherever I walk … of course, it’s when your mind is on something else that they appear. 😉
Girl, you got skills! 😆😁 Congratulations on levitating to safety AND getting great pics, TJ! 😄 I used to be terrified of snakes until I met my husband. He spent his youth snake “hunting” with his brother, which involved recording what snakes they found, their location, date, length, venomous or nonvenomous, etc… and then released them back into the wild. They educated me on snakes over the years, so I don’t fear them, but have a healthy respect for them. Fun times and great memories! 🙂
I have a healthy enough respect for them to NOT go looking specifically for them! 🙂 Kudos to your husband and his brother for such intimate research of snakes in their youth. I definitely respect their place in the ecosystem, and I don’t necessarily fear them … but I’m pretty far out away from anyplace, and a healthy respect keeps ME healthy!
such cool photos and story line ! Thank goodness for that long lens ! Sounds like you both were wary enough of each other that observing one another was the best option 🙂 Another basin encounter for the books 🐍
Once my heart returns to its proper place in my anatomy, I do love to turn my lens on them. … And I’m VERY glad of my very long lens. 😉
I say th
?? 🙂 Do you often see big Texas rattlers?
I’ve seen some pretty big ones here. I had no choice but to run one over on one of our country roads. It was slithering across the road, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it took up almost both lanes. I couldn’t swerve out of the way because my side was the drop off side. I wasn’t going very fast because the road is quite windy. When my front tires went over it, it came back and bit my back tire! That snake was quite healthy! It had to have been 10 inches or more around. I stopped to see if it was alright, and it just went back to slithering the way it was headed.
Zowie!! That’s a crazy big snake! Ours aren’t NEARLY that long or fat! Glad you were driving and not on your walk! I imagine it takes a lot of rodents to keep a snake that size well-fed and healthy. Eeeek! 🙂
Back hiking in CA, I expected to see one every day. I have yet to see one out at the Refuge which is OK with me. I admit to having a kind of fondness for the little guys, I guess familiarity. In all those years I had only ONE close call and that was because I wasn’t looking (mountain bikers approaching fast!!!) when I stepped off the trail. It was one of those “time stretches out” moments and I learned what “shake a stick at” means. It means THAT. I put my stick between me and the snake’s head and he backed off. When I turned to look at the trail, the mountain bikers hadn’t gotten any closer. It seemed like a long time, but wasn’t. He was a little guy, too.
I know what you mean about the time-stretching weirdness. Glad the stick worked for you! These little rattlers here don’t seem to be at all aggressive, which is a very good thing. They’re little/big enough. 🙂
oh My!!!!
what great shots though I can see you jumping in mid step!
thanks for sharing
It’s warm enough that they’re still out. I just saw another one today while throwing some trash into a seldom-used barrel. Fortunately, I saw it before I stepped too close to the barrel, where it was basking in sunshine and reflected warmth!