I hope that isn't your front yard.

I worked with a guy who was bitten by a small rattlesnake in his front yard right after moving down to the Atlanta area from the Boston area. He was being welcomed to the neighborhood when one of the neighbors told him not to go out barefoot because of the fire ants. When he went back in to get his shoes he stepped on the snake. Ouch.

Not my front yard in dallas...

He's one of the "pets" that I'll visit this weekend. I think he misses me...got that look in his eye.

Personally I would be hoping that he would keep on missing me.

I'm usually down there only after the cool weather and we typically just see them when they move before a storm. I like it that way.

One year after they root plowed the pasture we were hunting and planted grass and grain you couldn't see the ground through the grass. Made you think twice about walking around once it warmed up.

I'll rarely get out in the spring or fall without a pair of snake leggings. And for that matter, any time I'm hunting I'm wearing them. When it's cool in the evenings we just ride the roads looking for snakes. They all come out looking for a little warmth. I've got one penned up at the moment that we work dogs with and he's damn near pushing 6 feet and probably 12-15 lbs. Thickest snake I've seen...damn near jerked my old man's arm off trying to catch him.

Are you using him to "snake proof" the dogs?

The biggest snake I've seen in the pasture was a Blue Indigo. Big snake but not a threat.

Yep, nothing worse than losing a dog to a snake.

I don't know how big blue indigos get but they get very big. I was building 4 miles of fence one summer when I was in high school and I drove by one while I was on a tractor. I immediately stopped, put it in reverse and went back to get a better look. Biggest snake I've ever seen, and that was only the half that was sticking out of the brush. And he had what looked like a 4 foot rattlesnake half eaten, hanging out of his mouth. To this day, I never met anyone that's actually seen a blue indigo eat a rattlesnake even though they are well known for it.

Nothing like baiting the ranch roads and senderos in South Texas Brush Country, then walking them at night, sneaking up on the herds of swine with a rifle and a red light. Only problem, when you put all that corn on the roads, the rats and mice come out too, and you better keep one eye on the ground because the "No-Shoulders" or "Buzz Bugs" will be there as well.

Back when I was around 18 or 19 I worked for Ventura College for a summer collecting the Mojaviensis. A smallish green rattler with the temperment of a mad dog in heat on a hot day. They are really nasty. Maybe ten times quicker to strike than the Diamondback. Snakes are not that hard to control or capture once you learn to control your bladder. LOL.
The other little bugger I caught a lot of was the little sidewinder which takes some getting used to. They are only active at night and are especially tricky since they move with that crazy sideways undulating action. Great adrenaline rush anyway you look at it. I kinda think thats why I am dealing with a bad heart now. Again LOL.
Frank

Caught a new one last weekend

I hate rattlers, but LOVE to eat them!

I agree they are very tasty.
Frank