I have a couple pallets at the side of the yard 75 ft from front door - no, aint no home owners association here. I keep corn, rice bran, etc on the pallet, covered with a tarp so I dont have to go to boat shed to get just a bag or two. Was getting close to dark and we were gonna go for a short sxs ride and put some corn in a feeder so was gonna get a couple bags of corn off the pallet. Backed the ranger up to the tarp and wife started to pull tarp off from one side as I was reaching for other side. I thought, one day there is gonna be a rattle snake laying under here. I pulled tarp back and took a step towards pallets at the same time as I was pulling tarp. It all happened at once, pulled tarp back and took a step toward pallets and stepped on a rattlesnake coiled up about half out the side of the pallet. I saw it about the time I felt something soft under the front half of foot. Snake started thrashing under my foot, I hollered like a 16 yr old girl who has just figured out she likes to cuss, wife screamed and she had no idea what was going on - but she knew it wasnt good. Snakes dont usually bother me - as long as I see them first - and dont step on them. Even kept a few rattlesnakes back in my younger days.
told wife what was going on and told her to put dog in house and get a hoe or two. I knew we didnt want to leave that snake in a healthy condition in my front yard. I knew it had crawled back into the pallets under the corn. Pulled the tarps all the way back and no snake. I didnt want to get down on my hands and knees to look in the pallet, so got the tractor to pick up the pallets while the wife stood guard. Lifted the pallets and still no snake. Got a light and looked in the pallet and there it was.
. When I lifted the pallets up off the ground, wife said she saw a couple mice jump out. She reminded me of the black mamba that crawled around the end of my foot at the campfire in Zimbabwe and headed straight to a rockpile 10 feet from the campfire area - where the guests had been feeding popcorn to bush babies - a small squirrel size lemur. My corn was doing the same thing - baiting mice and attracting the snake. Gonna have to change that arrangement
One of the prettiest rattlesnakes I have ever seen - really bright markings.
yes, I know we arent supposed to kill snakes. I felt a little remorse because the snake probably should have bit me and didnt. And while it got my attention, it made me a little sick to my stomach to think last week three of my young grand daughters probably walked within ten feet of those pallets fifty times. I will be looking where I step for a few days
told wife what was going on and told her to put dog in house and get a hoe or two. I knew we didnt want to leave that snake in a healthy condition in my front yard. I knew it had crawled back into the pallets under the corn. Pulled the tarps all the way back and no snake. I didnt want to get down on my hands and knees to look in the pallet, so got the tractor to pick up the pallets while the wife stood guard. Lifted the pallets and still no snake. Got a light and looked in the pallet and there it was.
. When I lifted the pallets up off the ground, wife said she saw a couple mice jump out. She reminded me of the black mamba that crawled around the end of my foot at the campfire in Zimbabwe and headed straight to a rockpile 10 feet from the campfire area - where the guests had been feeding popcorn to bush babies - a small squirrel size lemur. My corn was doing the same thing - baiting mice and attracting the snake. Gonna have to change that arrangement
One of the prettiest rattlesnakes I have ever seen - really bright markings.
yes, I know we arent supposed to kill snakes. I felt a little remorse because the snake probably should have bit me and didnt. And while it got my attention, it made me a little sick to my stomach to think last week three of my young grand daughters probably walked within ten feet of those pallets fifty times. I will be looking where I step for a few days
