Sally was screaming my name. We were walking in a mesquite pasture and I couldn't see her but I could hear the distress in her voice. I rushed through the brush to her. When I got there, she was shaking and pointing to the ground near by. At first, I didn't see what had shook her up so bad. Then, my eyes focused in on this huge rattlesnake that was laying perfectly still near an animal hole.
It was a sunny warm day and this particular pasture had many eroded ravines. This location is only two miles or so from a pasture that had similar ravines where David Wilson and I caught dozens of rattlers back in the 70s. The rattlers seem to prefer animal holes on the high side of the ravines for their winter dens.
As the rattler slithered back down into his den hole, I got a pretty good look at the length and it was the longest rattlesnake I have seen in the past forty years or so. Length was between 5 and 6 feet and it had a very long set of rattles.
Be careful out there.
Great PSA with an awesome story and pictures. As always you’re Sally’s hero.
ReplyDelete