Palo Duro Canyon, Texas

Ken N Tx

MALE
Location
Texas
These pictures was taken July 7th at the ranch by a cowboy looking for strays. For you folks that are not educated on Rattle snakes, this generally only happens in the spring when they come out of the den and the weather is warm enough for them to sun. The cowboy thinks the drought is so bad in West Texas that they are not going far from the den and returning daily.

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Quite a collection! When I worked at a facility in the Blue Ridge mts, upon the first sighting of them coming out to sun themselves, the " rattlesnake memo" would come out warning people to be alert when they were out on the grounds.
 

I had a friend while in the service who went out to catch rattlers to sell them for their venom. He showed me a potato sack he had them in and kept them in the trunk of his '50 Merc until he went off to sell them. I did not go with him... :D
 
I'm a graveyard "nut". I can't pass a historic cemetery without stopping and wandering around taking pictures. I was in one in North Carolina a couple of years ago when the timber rattlers were out. You should have seen me doing the "graveyard fandango" getting out of there. Now, don't get me wrong, I love snakes.....I just don't like being surprised by snakes, especially venomous snakes.
 
Ironically rattlers are most potent with venom when they emerge from hibernation so not only do we have a greater chance of seeing on, he will be more dangerous. I am not up for sparing them if one is in my vicinity no matter what the green group says.
 
Oh my gosh, if I saw that collection, I would have a heart attack! Seriously a heart attack! Even a tiny, pencil thin baby garter snake can have me detouring to the other side of the yard while my heart pounds in my chest. All stems from a prank played by my sister when I was about nine. Never the same since.
 
My wife does not like snakes, she gets at least one kill per year. This is what we call a rat snake, it is harmless unless cornered. She says a good snake is a dead snake!!
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