Is that all there is?

[MRGALT2U]

DW is a country girl. Her whole life really. The only wild critters she has shown any fear of are snakes. Don't know why. We don't have any poisonous ones around
here. She doesn't want to kill them, just get far away quickly..............which reminds me of "Jake the Snake"
I used to own a "weekend" cottage in Upper Michigan.
We had a resident pine or fox snake. He was huge.
Much larger than REW's rattler. Anyway, it scared the
pants off my little nephews and their daddy was going to dispatch Jake with a rock. I saved his reptilian butt
and managed to get him into a cardboard box (that was a trick), turning
him loose in a nice brush pile way at the back of our property. He was back at the cabin in a week. May be
still there for all I know.

JG

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

Sigh. *I love deserts -- the farther from civilization the better -- and I guess I've seen rattlesnakes about 15 - 20 times whilst backpacking. *. . .

Hi Caroline,

I love deserts too. I probably see 15 to 30 rattlesnakes a year doing the things I do. My DW and I are usually off trail documenting archaeology sites and features in remote areas and there are a lot more snakes off trail than on. I only recall once when the rattlesnake seemed to chase us rather than retreat. Like you say, usually you see them when they rattle with authority and if you have the sense to respect that authority and retreat, they will too.

We've done quite a bit of research on rattlesnakes and snake bites . . . learn about the things you fear to reduce the fear. It turns out that the vast majority of snake bites reported in the US each year occur on the hands of white males 15 to 25 years old. If you don't get a macho attack and try to pick them up, you are really pretty safe. Most of the rattlesnake bites on peole are also dry bites -- that is, the snake chooses not to inject venom. Apparently the rattlesnake knows that a person is too big to be food and they choose to save their venom for lunch. And despite all this, I still don't like rattlesnakes. When I hear that warning or see those viper eyes, it creeps me out. I'll be jumpy the rest of the day.

[WanderALot]

Caroline,

I had the EXACT same experience at Zion. The rattler was about 3 feet off the trail under a rock looking down at the trail. I believe it was the trail going up to Angels Landing. We stood around and watched it for a little bit and all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, the guy started rattling like crazy.

WanderALot

[MRGALT2U]

A good friend of mine (now deceased) was out
looking for rattlers with a group of buddies
(this was in Texas, folks) I guess they were
going to fry them up. Anyway, my friend was laying
on the ground peering into a hole in some rocks.
One of his companions chose this moment to throw
a dead rattler over his shoulders. Gave him quite a
thrill he said. Texas humor

JG

[BUM]

That companion sounds like one pain in the asp.

BUM

[MRGALT2U]

Hey BUM.........."Pain in the asp". I like that one. Well, maybe I am just having a
late midlife crisis (already had several) . I think it's partly that there is a whole lot fo stuff
I used to do that I can't do any longer. And.............it's not a matter of not having the
financial resources as I am creative enough to come up with new stuff. It's just that as
you get older your options become limited (sooner for some than for others - but it will
happen). I like my "reading in the rocking chair" time) but I was used to a pretty active
lifestyle ("Low budget Heningwayesque" wasn't just braggin') Also, he was gone at 61
and now I'm getting close. Well, enough of that.

To answer a question by Nords, my -0-% CC money is makin' me 3.25% and that's a lock into 2006. Wish I had more. I posted before that at one time I had 117K borrowed at -0- %APR. .
At 3.25% that would come to $3800 a year, tax-free in my case. Money for nothing!

JG

[BUM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRGALT2U I think it's partly that there is a whole lot fo stuff I used to do that I can't do any longer. And.............it's not a matter of not having the financial resources as I am creative enough to come up with new stuff. It's just that as you get older your options become limited (sooner for some than for others - but it will happen). JG

Mornin' John,

For what ever reason nearly all my friends and acquaintance have been years older than I. From childhood to now I've enjoyed and learned from that wisdom. My best buddy, 10 years my senior, now deceased used to marvel at my accomplishments and devil-may-care attitude.

He said at or near 50 you wont care about this (business) anymore. You'll be much more interested in living life. "Yeah, sure buddy." I said. He was dead right, no pun intended.

Now if you'll excuse me I have some life (left) to go live.

BUM