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Monday, August 26, 2013

Moderate Monday

Dead Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (red arrow points to rattle)
Today's hike was moderate in several ways:  it was moderately long; the morning was moderately warm; and I was moderately startled to find a dead Western Diamondback Rattlesnake in a Creosote Bush right next to where we usually park the car.  It looked like somebody had killed the snake because I couldn't see its head.  Most of the time when people kill a rattler they take the rattle.  It seems as if somebody took this one's head.





Barrel Cactus flowers

A bee working the pollen field

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

Great photo of the bee and the pollen. I like that bright reddish-orange color.

Scott said...

I don't have to contend with poisonous snakes in highly suburbanized southeastern Pennsylvania, so I don't understand why people are so quick to kill things. Perhaps I'll feel differently if Kali and move to Colorado and run into them fairly frequently.

The orange color of the cactus flowers is intense.

packrat said...

Scott:

I suspect you won't feel differently about rattlers even if you encounter them frequently. Over the years I've had numerous encounters with rattlesnakes, and I've never once felt like killing one. They are magnificent creatures--albeit dangerous ones.

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