First of the season

[sixball]

I was headed out to where the frame is stashed to check if a new tool will help with the rivet holes and was greeted by a 32" rattler. Funny thing is that Wednesday I took the dog we got last summer to a rattle snake avoidance class. She did well but evidently I should have payed closer attention.  It is good they make noise because I was headed to the big weed it was hiding under to pull it. That would not have worked out with a quiet poisonous snake.  This guy was more aggressive than most of the ones we have here.

[EDNY]

They are protected here in NY! Another crazy thing is that if you find any gold in NY..it belongs to the state!

[sammons]

Glad he gave you a rattle, some folks around here said they have been struck at with out a warning last couple years. Been lucky here yet, no sighting since last fall across the alley. They seem to move into town towards the end of july when it gets hot and dry.

Several weeks ago i got startled by the biggest Blue Racer i have ever seen. He was just shy of 6', i was mowing and came face to face as he was chilling on a low branch of the tree. Couple weeks ago another showed up, it was right at 4' and very fast 😁  I told the neighbors so they wouldn't freakout when they came across them.

[sixball]

At my grandsons" baseball games last week i spotted a good sized gopher snake. I was amused at how many people it crawled by who never saw it.

Our Great Basin rattle snakes are usually pretty timid. This one was ticked of for some reason. It may have been sleeping and I was pretty close what it woke up.

Nevada's gold discovery site is about 5 miles away and they were digging here by 1850. We can pretty much keep the gold we find but the gold deposits here are not usually the coarse dust and nuggets like California. Much of it is the microscopic stuff mined mostly by big Canadian companies. Neither the State or the Country gets any of it. They have a good lobby.

[62131]

Snake's   whooo  they cause me to hurt myself trying to get away, Seen the skin off a a black snake while mowing next to the trees on the back off my lot, I know he's in there somewhere I'm sure hes eating the field mice. 

[sixball]

#2 About 10 yards from yesterday's. About the same size but it was running in stealth mode. The rattles are broken off with only the newest one and the one before it. Didn't make any noise. The older dog was with me, the one that has been bitten 3 times. She picks them up pretty quick now and saw this one before it saw us. She made a quick stop and backed up and sniffed at the same time than looked at me as if to say, "Well, the gun is in your hand use it!" and got behind me. It was coiled with it's head down. I couldn't get a clear head shot. I blew it up too bad to skin it. I think I'll move the frame to a less snake spot. I got the Rust Doctor on almost the whole frame. I need to clean the places where I tried the WD 40 and Mystery oil. I'll reload the gun and try to get pictures of it tomorrow. 

[chopper526]

I guess that's one of the good things about living in an urban area, the only snake I see around my way is the garden snake. No threat there. And as far as finding gold? ....only in a safe deposit box But, if I did find gold you know I would turn it over to the government, riiiight......

[sixball]

And this morning #3. The biggest yet a little over 3' 8 rattles, under the tractor. All about 30 yards apart and 20 to 50 yards from the house. One of my friends was upset because I discarded the others and placed his order for the rest. He tried to convince me of how good they taste. He is wrong but welcome to them.

[sixball]

#4 this morning. Just when I was thinking it was safe to leave the house.  My wife discovered another 3 footer on her way to the car to go shopping. It was about 20 feet from the back door.  This will make two that I've cleaned and frozen for a friend who wants to make some rattle snake chili. I'll skin 'em and clean 'em but I won't eat 'em. 

[sammons]

My brother is on 6 i believe. 4 adults and 2 babies that showed up in his shop🤯  He dosen't like killing them, but can't have them at the house or shop. Too many grandkids and pets around. He leaves them alone on the outskirts of his property.

His latest one last weekend. Looks like the same as yours Sixball.

[sixball]

He is ahead of me and I hope he stays there. This is a contest I don't mind loosing.  I'll call it off now if he will.  I don't like the babies they just bite. I don't like killing them either and don't do it if they are not where we and the dogs have to be. The rodents they eat cause a lot of damage and carry Hantavirus and Bubonic Plague. At least the rattlers sound a warning. I have to move my activities up to the springs next week to get the fire system fully operational. We'll see who's hiding up there. 

[62131]

I  don't want any part of that contest

[chopper526]

Rattlesnake chili? I'll just stick to ground beef in mine. I'm down the Jersey shore for the summer running my miniature golf and ice cream shop. I found one problem down here....mice. I'm not big on killing any animal unless they get in my way, and these mice are in my way. I set 4 traps with peanut butter and they picked them clean! I reset them. Picked them clean again! I'll try a different bait that they have to tug on........at least I don't have rattlesnakes, that's one good thing about the city I guess.

[sammons]

But...."Tastes like Chicken"🥴  Well, i'll just have the Chicken😁

Those mice can be tricky to catch sometimes. Get yourself a good female mouser cat. I've seen lots of business' use those to keep mice down. Most customers like petting the "House Cat".🙂

[chopper526]

Haha! Me too, if I want something that tastes like chicken I will just eat chicken. A cat might be a solution but then I have to take care of it, traps only cost $1.00